I just found out about a new search tool via Mikel: It’s called Rollyo and it allows you to create your own personal search engine on the Web (it’s actually using Yahoo Search in a customized way). It’s quick and simple, which is refreshing.
As a test, I’ve created a specialized « searchroll » for Screenwriting Blogs. I read a lot of blogs about screenwriting and it can be hard sometimes to remember where I read a specific info. I opened up a new « search roll » on Rollyo, added a list of blogs I read and voil�. If I want to see what other screenwriters have to say about character development for example, I just go to my search roll (which is also available to other people) and do a specific search, which gives me these results (found via Yahoo search).
I also created a searchroll for Montreal Bloggers. (It’s too bad that you can only list 25 URLs per searchroll.)
It’s great to be able to narrow a search to Web sites you already know and trust. I know some RSS feed readers can do this but not everybody uses RSS feeds and it’s nice to be able to share searchrolls with other people. The idea isn’t new, of course and there are many players in the game. So far though, I like the Rollyo interface better than other customized search engine I’ve tried.
A simple interface and easy sharing seem to be the magic combination to predict the success of new applications like this. It will be interesting to see if it catches on. It might have a good chance if the Rollyo people fix the weaknesses mentioned in this review at Search Engine Watch.
