Wink Technologies
Encyclopedia
Wink Technologies is the operator of Wink, a community-based social search
engine. It provides people search across social networks, and Web search based on user input. Wink is different from conventional search engines in that the relevant results are derived not just from machine algorithms, but directly from user input, such as social bookmarking
, voting up or down, or blocking results that are considered to be spam, thus allowing users to collectively create their own search engine. Wink released an early beta of the service on December 22, 2005 and formally launched Wink beta 2 on September 6, 2006. Wink was recognized by Business 2.0
as an innovator in social search
.
, Slashdot
, Furl
, Yahoo MyWeb, and others. Users can bookmark results as personal favorites, add tags that relate to the site, or vote for or against each result with a thumb up or a thumb down respectively. Wink results are added on to search results from Google
to give users a full search experience in one place.
Wink Collections are a social tool that allow users to organize links and items such as online video
, audio, and images from around the Web that apply to a given subject. For example a Wink collection about funny ads contains links to commercials found by users across the Web regardless of whether the text search "funny ad" would have found them. Likewise, a collection about Hybrid cars contains links to various resources concerning hybrid vehicles such as comparisons, merchants, tax information, reviews, photos, etc. in one list, even though these resources would not likely surface in the same search engine query. Users of a collection can rate links up or down within the collection using thumbs up or thumbs down, and can add their own links to the collection.
Wink People Search allows users to search for people across social networks including MySpace
, LinkedIn
, Bebo
, Friendster
and others.
Wink people search allows users to search by name, and also by interest, location, and other information published in users profiles. Wink people search allows users to find others who have similar interests and find out what social network they can be found on. It has been suggested that the profiles for a given individual on different services be combined, but the company has chosen to leave this to users by giving them a way to list the social networks they wish to claim.
Wink Topic Pages are topical pages for given subjects containing Web sites tagged with that subject and users who have claimed an interest in that subject. Wink topics bring together the people search with the social search providing a way for communities to form around given topics.
that is receiving attention as a potentially important development in web search.
, Yahoo, Google
, and Excite
.
On December 22, 2005 the company released the first beta of its social search service.
On September 6, 2006 the company released the second beta of its service, adding Wink collections.
On November 10, 2006 the company released 'Wink People Search' which provides search across multiple social networks such as MySpace
, Bebo
, Friendster
and LinkedIn
.
On March 19, 2007 it was reported that the company would focus completely on people search and that it was repurchasing some shares from existing investors.
On April 30, 2007 Reunion.com announced an agreement with Wink to provide Wink's people profiles to Reunion's members and affiliates.
On November 3, 2007 Reunion.com announced an agreement to merge with Wink.
veterans Reid Hoffman
and Peter Thiel
.
Additional Resources:
Social search
Social search or a social search engine is a type of web search that takes into account the Social Graph of the person initiating the search query...
engine. It provides people search across social networks, and Web search based on user input. Wink is different from conventional search engines in that the relevant results are derived not just from machine algorithms, but directly from user input, such as social bookmarking
Social bookmarking
Social bookmarking is a method for Internet users to organize, store, manage and search for bookmarks of resources online. Unlike file sharing, the resources themselves aren't shared, merely bookmarks that reference them....
, voting up or down, or blocking results that are considered to be spam, thus allowing users to collectively create their own search engine. Wink released an early beta of the service on December 22, 2005 and formally launched Wink beta 2 on September 6, 2006. Wink was recognized by Business 2.0
Business 2.0
Business 2.0 was a monthly magazine publication founded by magazine entrepreneur Chris Anderson, Mark Gross, and journalist James Daly in order to chronicle the rise of the "New Economy"...
as an innovator in social search
Social search
Social search or a social search engine is a type of web search that takes into account the Social Graph of the person initiating the search query...
.
Functionality
Wink users can search across Web sites submitted by fellow users and gathered through analysis of bookmarks and/or tags from other social services including DiggDigg
Digg is a social news website. Prior to Digg v4, its cornerstone function consisted of letting people vote stories up or down, called digging and burying, respectively. Digg's popularity prompted the creation of copycat social networking sites with story submission and voting systems...
, Slashdot
Slashdot
Slashdot is a technology-related news website owned by Geeknet, Inc. The site, which bills itself as "News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters", features user-submitted and ‑evaluated current affairs news stories about science- and technology-related topics. Each story has a comments section...
, Furl
Furl
Furl was a free social bookmarking website that allowed members to store searchable copies of webpages and share them with others. Every member received 5 gigabytes of storage space. The site was founded by Mike Giles in 2003 and purchased by LookSmart in 2004...
, Yahoo MyWeb, and others. Users can bookmark results as personal favorites, add tags that relate to the site, or vote for or against each result with a thumb up or a thumb down respectively. Wink results are added on to search results from Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
to give users a full search experience in one place.
Wink Collections are a social tool that allow users to organize links and items such as online video
Video clip
Video clips are short clips of video, usually part of a longer recording. The term is also more loosely used to mean any short video less than the length of a traditional television program.- On the Internet :...
, audio, and images from around the Web that apply to a given subject. For example a Wink collection about funny ads contains links to commercials found by users across the Web regardless of whether the text search "funny ad" would have found them. Likewise, a collection about Hybrid cars contains links to various resources concerning hybrid vehicles such as comparisons, merchants, tax information, reviews, photos, etc. in one list, even though these resources would not likely surface in the same search engine query. Users of a collection can rate links up or down within the collection using thumbs up or thumbs down, and can add their own links to the collection.
Wink People Search allows users to search for people across social networks including MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a business-related social networking site. Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking. , LinkedIn reports more than 120 million registered users in more than 200 countries and territories. The site is available in English, French,...
, Bebo
Bebo
Bebo is a social networking website launched in July 2005. It is currently owned and operated by Criterion Capital Partners after taking over from AOL in June 2010....
, Friendster
Friendster
Friendster is a social gaming site that is based in Malaysia, KL. The company now operates mainly from the three Asian countries namely in the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore....
and others.
Wink people search allows users to search by name, and also by interest, location, and other information published in users profiles. Wink people search allows users to find others who have similar interests and find out what social network they can be found on. It has been suggested that the profiles for a given individual on different services be combined, but the company has chosen to leave this to users by giving them a way to list the social networks they wish to claim.
Wink Topic Pages are topical pages for given subjects containing Web sites tagged with that subject and users who have claimed an interest in that subject. Wink topics bring together the people search with the social search providing a way for communities to form around given topics.
Significance
Wink has only been formally available for a short period and has not acquired a large following to date, however the capabilities demonstrated by the company are in an area, social searchSocial search
Social search or a social search engine is a type of web search that takes into account the Social Graph of the person initiating the search query...
that is receiving attention as a potentially important development in web search.
History
Wink was incorporated on August 19, 2004 to work on ways to apply user input to improve the way that Web search is done. has developed unique techniques in information retrieval and search engine architecture designed to improve search results based on input from users. Wink’s PeopleRank technology analyzes which pages people like or don’t like to determine relevant results. Wink's development team includes developers from InktomiInktomi
Inktomi Corporation was a California company that provided software for Internet service providers. It was founded in 1996 by UC Berkeley professor Eric Brewer and graduate student Paul Gauthier. The company was initially founded based on the real-world success of the search engine they developed...
, Yahoo, Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, and Excite
Excite
Excite is a collection of Internet sites and services owned by IAC Search & Media, which is a subsidiary of InterActive Corporation . Launched in 1994, it is an online service offering a variety of content, including an Internet portal, a search engine, a web-based email, instant messaging, stock...
.
On December 22, 2005 the company released the first beta of its social search service.
On September 6, 2006 the company released the second beta of its service, adding Wink collections.
On November 10, 2006 the company released 'Wink People Search' which provides search across multiple social networks such as MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
, Bebo
Bebo
Bebo is a social networking website launched in July 2005. It is currently owned and operated by Criterion Capital Partners after taking over from AOL in June 2010....
, Friendster
Friendster
Friendster is a social gaming site that is based in Malaysia, KL. The company now operates mainly from the three Asian countries namely in the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore....
and LinkedIn
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a business-related social networking site. Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking. , LinkedIn reports more than 120 million registered users in more than 200 countries and territories. The site is available in English, French,...
.
On March 19, 2007 it was reported that the company would focus completely on people search and that it was repurchasing some shares from existing investors.
On April 30, 2007 Reunion.com announced an agreement with Wink to provide Wink's people profiles to Reunion's members and affiliates.
On November 3, 2007 Reunion.com announced an agreement to merge with Wink.
Additional information
Wink investors include PayPalPayPal
PayPal is an American-based global e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to paying with traditional paper methods, such as checks and money orders....
veterans Reid Hoffman
Reid Hoffman
Reid G. Hoffman is an American entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Hoffman is best known as the co-founder of LinkedIn, a social network used primarily for business connections and job searching.-Early education and career:...
and Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel
Peter Andreas Thiel is an American business magnate, venture capitalist, and hedge fund manager. With Elon Musk and Max Levchin, Thiel co-founded PayPal and was its CEO...
.
External links
Additional Resources: