Google’s SearchMash Enhanced With Flash And SnapShots

Anyone who is familiar with SearchMash knows that it is essentially Google's playground for new search technologies and features.

In a major update, Google has now introduced a fully Flash-driven version of the search engine that also makes use of the Snap Shots preview add-on so widely used around the web.

Flash has always had its naysayers who cite incompatibility, SEO-UNfriendliness, and slow load times, but Google seems to have created a very well-developed search engine that offers users much more interactivity.

After performing a search in the new Flash engine, search results make up the wide left column, while the right 'Preview' sidebar contains details and information about the currently selected link, along with the preview image from Snap Shots. The arrows at the top of the results area navigate between the previous or next page of results, when available.

Perhaps the most useful feature is the ability to select any search result and preview it in the sidebar before actually visiting the site. Results can be selected by single-clicking on them, using the keyboard arrow keys to scroll up and down, or by using the mouse wheel. To actually visit a site, a user must double-click on the link, which then opens the site in a SearchMash-framed window.

"Flash is so pretty, but can it truly be as fast as Ajax? Maybe not, but it is getting fast enough for me," mentioned Erick Schonfeld, which is a remark I wholeheartedly agree with.

From my own testing, I found the results to load quickly (even when searching through images), and the disappearing left sidebar that stores previous searches is very convenient for backtracking (although some may fail to see it, as it is hidden by default).

SearchMash has only been available now for a little over a year, and I am still not sure exactly what Google's intentions are as far as whether anything tested there will make its way onto Google Search.

If the dull features available at Google's recently launched Experimental Search Lab are any clue as to what Google is planning for its own site, then don't plan on seeing any of the exotic Flash features of SearchMash. I would much rather search in a fast-loading Flash interface with previews than just use keyboard shortcuts and timeline search views any day.