Microsoft is looking to separate itself from Google & Yahoo by introducing Social Search. Social Search is a way to find out information from a peer network, rather than generic search engine results. MSN Senior Product Manager, Justin Osmer, says that Microsoft research shows that generic search can’t answer 50% of the queries asked. There are rumors that Microsoft may buy or form a partnership with Eurekster.com, who specializes in social network search.
Yahoo has led the social search charge with Yahoo Answers, which lets users ask questions of their peers and fellow searchers. Google is also in the game with Google Base. MSN has a slight advantage in the social search game due to their huge amount of knowledge of users’ social circles (from MSN Messenger – 205 million users, MSN Hotmail – 230 million users).