There is a lot of buzz surrounding Powerset, a semantic search engine, at the moment. Some in blogging circles are questioning whether this will be the engine to knock Google off its pedestal while others have rightfully assumed that this probably will not be the case.
Powerset is currently limited to searching Wikepedia, but they have plans in place to aggregate other information bases in the near future. Basically, Powerset allows you to search more intelligently by asking everyday questions instead of having to guess which keywords to enter. Simply go to powerset.com and enter a topic, phrase, or question into the search bar, and Powerset will give you results that are related to the meaning of your question and sometimes even the direct answer. So the next time you need to answer “who is Hulk Hogan”, plug your question into Powerset and actually get the answer to your question.
Powerset.com In Their Own Words
“Powerset’s goal is to change the way people interact with technology by enabling computers to understand our language. While this is a difficult challenge, we believe that now is the right time to begin the journey. Powerset is first applying its natural language processing to search, aiming to improve the way we find information by unlocking the meaning encoded in ordinary human language.”
Why Powerset.com It Might Be A Killer
There is little doubt that semantic search will become increasingly popular as the technology improves. The ability to make a computer understand our language enables us to get much more accurate search results. Powerset looks to be a real player in this space and should become a household name in the near future.
Some Questions About Powerset.com
Will Google or MSN buy Powerset or will they continue in the development of their own projects? Will Powerset be as effective when it has to deal with a variety of sources instead of just Wikepedia? Since Wikepedia in general has good pre-qualified information, Powerset does not have to include algorithms that help it to prioritize the usefulness of a source. 
