I figured that some creative Silicon Valley types could use a prod in the right direction about areas of search verticals that are still lacking major players (or high-quality players). Here’s just a few that I think would be great to add to the search repertoire:
- Sports Search – Browse by year, team, sport, championship, stats, college, professional, etc. There’s a built-in ad model and it’s an idea ripe with possibilities for expansion, sponsorship and cross-promotions.
- Legal Search – My understanding from recent law school grads is that none of the major portals are currently up to the task. Obviously, some of that is due to the proprietary nature of the business, but someone should Web 2.0 that field and take it to the bank.
- Food Search – I’m tired of Epicurious and FoodTV as the only sources for recipes. A combination of user-submitted and editorially created recipes, along with reviews of raw ingredients, markets and cookware (ala Cook’s Illustrated – a fantastic magazine, BTW) is just what the nutrionist ordered.
- Specialty Retail Search – Froogle, Shopping.com and the like aren’t serving the needs of the long tail as well as specialized niche searches/portals could. I envision a niche engines for everything from marine gear to aftermarket auto parts to modern furniture.
- Medical Provider Search – Want to find the best physical therapist in your area as rated by other people like you… MySpace can’t help and neither can LinkedIn – local search is, much like product search in #4, too broad to serve every group well.
Any others you’d like to see?
p.s. Sorry for the slow posting – I’m just back from Nashville, TN; more on that tomorrow 🙂
