Traditional search engines like Google excel at finding objective information in the vast network of pages on the web, but what about when you want a local restaurant recommendation? Going far beyond general reviews or even those of twinsumers with similar tastes is a new search site that aims to get more personally relevant by asking your own extended network of friends.

Users of Aardvark begin by adding the service to their email or IM buddy list, and then sending it a question in plain English via either medium. Aardvark then checks the user's social network of participating friends and friends-of-friends to see who might be able to answer it. Friends must have signed up with Aardvark to be considered, and they can control whose questions come to them, and when. Factors taken into account by the algorithm that chooses respondents include how closely connected they are to the person with the question, what topics they know about—gleaned from profile data on Facebook and around the web—whether they have similar tastes, where they're located and whether they're currently available to answer. After zeroing in on a small subset of the user's social network, Aardvark finds someone who can answer the question in real time and, within 5 minutes or so, sends their answer back to the person who asked.

"If someone's looking for a recommendation on 'great music' or a 'hotel room in London', not even 20 percent of people are going to be satisfied with a search result" from a traditional search engine, ex-Googler Max Ventilla, now Aardvark's CEO, told BusinessWeek. Rather than objective listings or the opinions of anonymous strangers on the web—which is mostly what one gets from Google—or the highly curated yet heavily numerical answers that are generated by Wolfram|Alpha, Aardvark aims to provide advice that's subjective and customised to the person who asked the question.

San Francisco-based Aardvark requires no software download or installation; there are currently more than 10,000 users testing out a private version of the site, according to BusinessWeek. Its revenue model includes referral fees paid by companies—including Amazon and Zappos so far—when answers include a link to their sites, BW reported.

Will social search provide the new way to get answers to everyday questions? It seems likely, but only time will tell. In the meantime, one to watch, partner with—or generally get in on as soon as possible! ;-)

Website: www.vark.com
Contact: info@aardvarkteam.com

Spotted by: Diricia De Wet

Cash-strapped consumers are increasingly looking to their spare rooms, their backyards and even their furniture for ways to earn some extra money. Now they can offer up their photos for sale as well thanks to Fotomoto.

Currently in invitation-only beta, Fotomoto enables anyone with photographic content to sell their photos directly from their website or blog. A single line of code is all it takes to add the customisable Fotomoto toolbar, which analyzes the site's web pages, adds a "Buy" button to each photo for sale and enables viewers to purchase and pay for photos on the spot or send them as free e-cards. Fotomoto handles all order processing and then prints, packages and ships the purchased photos to customers. Its control panel, meanwhile, allows users to set the pricing and availability of their photos, manage their orders and even track analytics data such as how many times a particular photo has been viewed or sent as an e-card. There is no subscription fee for using the service; Fotomoto simply deducts the cost of each print sold plus a 15 percent transaction charge from each order amount, sending the rest on to the user. Photographers in 25 different countries are already using San Francisco-based Fotomoto, which will soon be able to handle transactions in local currencies as well, it says. International shipping is also available. Greeting cards, postcards, calendars and signed prints are coming soon.

Creative consumers have long enjoyed being rewarded for their efforts, but the global recession has added a new level of urgency, spurring what our sister site calls sellsumers to hawk everything from their storage space to their online profiles in their quest to stay afloat. Those who help them do that, of course, will see their own ships rise as well! ;-)

Website: www.fotomoto.com
Contact: www.fotomoto.com/site/contact

Spotted by: TechCrunch

Back in 2006 we wrote about Scoopt Words, an agency that set out to connect bloggers with press outlets. Sadly, Scoopt closed its doors earlier this year, but now a new contender out of Israel is taking a different approach to getting bloggers published—and paid for their efforts.

With a content network of niche websites on topics ranging from poetry to business, sports, travel, health and more, Triond accepts original content in any format, including written articles, pictures, audio and video. Users begin by registering for free and creating a public profile on the site, then submitting their content. Next, Triond reviews their submission; once approved, it publishes the work on the participating site that's best suited to it, handling all the technical, marketing, operational and financial details. Even better is that as soon as that happens, the content begins generating revenue from display and contextual advertising that's placed on the same pages, with 50 percent of any earnings going directly back to the blogger. Tools on the site allow content creators to easily monitor their content, give and receive feedback, and interact with others in the Triond community. Users' profile pages, meanwhile, can be customised with all of their creations, in effect serving as a dynamic online portfolio of their published work. Triond is a service by Tel Aviv-based Stanza Ltd.

If there's one thing that seems clear in the ever-shifting—and struggling—world of journalism, it's that blogging is here to stay. Making it widely profitable is the obvious next step, and there will be no shortage of rewards for those who make that happen. One to emulate on a localized or niche basis? (Related: Free daily pays bloggers.)

Website: www.triond.com
Contact: www.triond.com/contact

Spotted by: Bryce Hufnal

Much like the characters played by Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman in The Bucket List, most people have a set of experiences they hope to have during their lifetime. We've already seen two websites aimed at helping consumers track and realize those dreams—Eons and 43things—and recently one of our spotters alerted us to Diddit, a similar but expanded version.

Diddit, which was recently launched into alpha by California-based Ludic Labs, allows users to discover new ideas for life experiences as well as track the ones they've already had. More than 300,000 experiences in 20 different interest areas are currently listed on the site—including movies to see, foods to eat, travel destinations and more—available for browsing and inspiration. To participate in the community, users sign up for free and list the experiences they've already had. They can then look through the site's list of other ideas and add the ones they like to their list of goals. As each one gets accomplished they check it off on their list, with the opportunity to network and share stories and photos along the way through Diddit, Facebook and Twitter. A video on Vimeo provides a short introduction to the site.

It's not yet clear what Diddit's business model will be, but we'd bet ad support will be involved. After all, whether it's baby boomers or twenty-somethings using them, sites like Diddit promise a highly directed way for advertisers to target specific groups of consumers with particular goals and interests in common. One to try out, partner with or localize for your neck of the activity-seeking woods...? (Related: A public incentive to stick to one's goals.)

Website: www.diddit.com
Contact: info@diddit.com

Spotted by: Todd E. Bryant

Riding the Twitter tidal wave, a Dutch marketing agency is asking job applicants to apply in 140 characters or less.

Utrecht-based Energize is looking to hire an account manager and a strategic planner, and has designed an application form that looks exactly like a page on Twitter, including an empty text field. Candidates enter a short message—their "twillicitatie", or twapplication—describing why they're the person for the job, plus their email address and Twitter username. Uploading a resume is optional. For privacy reasons, Energize won't publicly tweet the applicant's message.

While it might seem like a gimmicky way to recruit new staff members, the process highlights that Energize is looking for people who actively use social media. More importantly, by forcing them to be both engaging and succinct, it's the perfect way to test a candidate's writing skills. Quite the time-saver for the hiring manager, too ;-) (Related: Dating profiles in 140 characters or less.)

Website: www.energize.nl/twillicitatie
Contact: info@energize.nl

Spotted by: Dutch Cowgirls