Build Your Own Search - Yahoo BOSS

Yahoo is letting you Build Your Own Search with a new open search web services program. To capitalize on the gargantuan value of global search results, Yahoo BOSS will allow people to customize the way they scour the web, building their own mini search engines using an API (applications programming interface).

“The goal of BOSS is simple: to foster innovation in the search industry,” Yahoo explains on the site. “Developers, start-ups, and large Internet companies can use BOSS to build and launch web-scale search products that utilize the entire Yahoo! Search index. BOSS gives you access to Yahoo!’s investments in crawling and indexing, ranking and relevancy algorithms, and powerful infrastructure. By combining your unique assets and ideas with our search technology assets, BOSS is a platform for the next generation of search innovation, serving hundreds of millions of users across the Web.”

Some search engines already built include Me.dium which comes with a social toolbar, Hakia and Cluzz, which integrates giant tag clouds. 

“In the coming months, we’ll be launching a monetization platform for BOSS that will enable Yahoo! to expand its ad network and enable BOSS partners to jointly participate in the compelling economics of search,” Yahoo ads.

a service they’ll get in exchange for letting Yahoo tap their search terms.