Charles Knight of Read/Write/Web launched the first Alt Search Engine Day at the Intercontinental Hotel today. Nearly 100 representatives from the alt search world attended.

The day consisted of a series of panels, interspersed with networking opportunities. This is a brief recap of the event. The gathering was casual, collaborative environment. No powerpoints, panel discussions only. If you want to see photos of the event, go here. The main topics discussed were:

1. Federated search for alt search–finding us all in one place
2. User’s First: Give them WHAT they want, the WAY they want (and need)–How to improve user experience
3. Re-aggregation of User Generated Content Intent–how to use all the UGC efficiently
4. Monetization and the Next Five Years–a round-up and more in depth discussion of earler panelist’s points
5. Making Search Visual–no more lists of irrelevent results, visuals instead with better results
6. Semantic search–creating ontologies that work

The key opportunity for alt search is to improve relevancy overall. The question remains, once we accomplish that, will the users embrace us? The first three panels will be recapped today and the following three tomorrow.

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