People Search - New Stuff

PeopleLast night we launched an update to Wink. We have a fresher look and more focus. That focus, if you haven’t noticed, is on People Search. Because there are so many online identities, and so many communities, we believe that there is a strong need for people to find other people in a new and improved manner. No other search engine provides this focus and service.

First, people search is not just about names. Many people never use their real names on their online profiles. They want to be who they wish to be. That’s fine. We know that the vast majority of people try to find others using real names. We support that and are working tirelessly on making sure that experience is the best in the world. Online identity is a nebulous thing. However we also recognize that people are looking for others who share common interests. They are looking for community. That community can be in any location. Our job is to help those seeking like minded people and the community best suited for their needs.

Some examples include: Coffee Lovers in Santa Cruz, CA, Knitters in Bozeman, MT, Cyclocross Riders in San Jose, CA, etc. You can find people by job type, location, employer, school, and so on. The important thing is that Wink searches across a growing number of social networks and communities to help you find just the right person. Since we put this release out on Valentines Day, I suppose you could find a date too. ;)

Back to identity. There are a few people and organizations trying to figure out how to consolidate or aggregate online identities. Some are trying to create a single identity to take with you wherever you go. We see this as a good thing and we support these efforts. We offer a simple solution for identity management. All you need is a Wink account and you can fill up your profile with all of your personal pages and profiles. Your blog, MySpace,  Bebo, YouTube, Yahoo!, del.icio.us, flickr, etc. This makes it easier for people to find you and provides a way for you to control your identity. You can say who or what you are. We’ll then apply priority to these identities in the Wink people search results. Look for new and cool ways to manage your online self coming soon.

We’d love to know what you think of these changes. If you are a Wink Web Search user, we have the web search bar at the bottom of each page.

15 February 2007 | Wink | Comments

2 Responses to “People Search - New Stuff”

  1. 1 Laughing Squid » Wink Widget 21 February 2007 @ 12:15 pm

    […] I’ve been playing around with the new Wink profile widget which is a great way to organize all of your various social networks on your sidebar (you can see it in action in our lower left-hand sidebar). Each link in the widget pulls in your RSS feed for that service and then when a visitor mouses over the link, a window will appear showing the most recent items from your feed. It’s an innovative approach to creating a blogroll like function for services, which can be displayed in multiple locations, while being managed centrally through Wink. This is part of Wink’s recent focus on “people search”, a way of helping people, with their various online identities, find communities that interest them. […]

  2. 2 Free People Search Guide » Blog Archive » Google Search Engine For People - Superintendent Search on Track (R News) 25 March 2007 @ 10:28 am

    […] People Search - New StuffThat focus, if you haven t noticed, is on People Search. Because there are so many online identities, and so many communities, we believe that there is a strong need for people to find other people in a new and improved manner. … […]