Microsoft is dumping Academic Search. Unbelievable.
Just how Microsoft thinks it’s going to compete head to head with Google without an education oriented search offering, I have no idea.
I’m stunned and perplexed.
Their explanation?
“…we believe the next generation of search is about the development of an underlying, sustainable business model for the search engine, consumer, and content partner.”
So it’s the money. Go figure. A company worth billions can’t see how valuable it is to help billions….of people.
I’ve been a fan of growing “reference” material online as some of my work with ink-based front ends to search illustrate. Taking away Academic Search is going in the wrong direction. I need see no more. Live Search is doomed–not because of the technical side, but because of the business side. This decision makes it so obvious.
Looks like I’m not the only one stunned by this news.
I’m afraid this looks like the MSN-ification of search is continuing. So unfortunate.
Let me put it this way: The trend in search is towards micro-searches not all-in-one searches. That’s why there’s room for image search, video search, TechMeme, thredr, and on and on.
And let’s be clear there are several businesses built around academic “search” already. The dream, as I see it, is to try to decrease the cost of these services by providing a different model for them. The cost and access to journals is too high. What about conference proceedings? And videos of conferences themselves? We need ways to improve these. Not more effort to solidify the older, existing models which are too exclusionary. Sure the existing players are uneasy about this, but we all know they can change and adapt if they want to. There’s plenty of room for them in the future. Just look at what MIT is doing by making their classes available online. This is the right direction. Imagine an acedemic search that brings all the journals and the classroom material together under one roof. Now we’re talking. By merging academic content with commerce-focused content all into one index and then trying to make sense of it later is a terrible, terrible mistake and a poor decision. Now, maybe, just maybe, the Live team sees how it can put everything under one roof and still provide filtered and efficient access to it. Could be. But based on the team’s business-minded rationale for dumping academic search, I have my doubts.
Well, this leaves Google and Yahoo. And, if Microsoft acquires, Yahoo search, this means there will only be Google left. Think about that.