Twitter as a search engine?
Here’s an experiment. Since Twitter acquired & integrated Summize ($15m Cash+Stock) they’ve had search. A better search then Twitter had previously. So, why not try it as your default search?
For Safari:
- Open Terminal
- Run:
perl -pi -e 's/%@.google.com\/%@\?q=%@&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8/search.twitter.com\/search\?no=%@,%@&q=%@/g' /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/MacOS/Safari(this should all be on one line within Terminal)
For Firefox:
- Install Twitter Search
- Or, get more in-depth instructions:
http://prototypes.builtbydave.co.uk/twitter-search/
Maybe I’ll do a follow up blog with any effects I notice.
Tags: Browsing, Firefox, mozilla, Safari, Search, Summize, Twitter
July 16th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
That’s a fantastic idea, I’ll give it a whirl tomorrow
July 17th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Hi Tim,
Thanks. So far it’s been interesting, a few keywords have appeared in mind as I’ve increasing used it:
* Mahalo
* AdWords
* Aggregated content
The list is growing and structure is emerging little by little. I’d be interested to know where it takes you
July 18th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
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July 21st, 2008 at 8:48 am
Ok dave, nice trick.
Now… any idea how to get it back to default search…
July 21st, 2008 at 9:00 am
Putting it back is flipping the 2 parts of the regexp:
perl -pi -e 's/search.twitter.com\/search\?no=%@,%@&q=%@/%@.google.com\/%@\?q=%@&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8/g' /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/MacOS/Safari
July 21st, 2008 at 10:55 am
Hey Spif, you got it