A new social search engine has launched called Decipho. Running on the Ask.com API, Decipho is the newest in a range of search engines emerging in the wake of the social web revolution.

For some time, questions have been asked of the traditional algorithm based search provided by the likes of Google and Yahoo! I, like many industry types, believe that social reviews/opinions will be a part of the next incarnation of the search process.

In a Q&A on SearchEngineLowdown, Decipho creator Steven Wakita shared his vision for the new search engine back in Oct 2006:

“The overall vision of Decipho is to make it easier to filter search results. I wanted it to be possible to do a search and automatically know what the content is about for that particular website without viewing it.

The key to making this work was by having enough information about the voting patterns for a particular website so that our users can make the best decision of whether they want to view the site or not. This is why I think the Search Analysis link is so important because it will allow our users to see what other keywords this website was categorized for by our users and break it down in percentages.”

Now that Decipho has launched, here’s a summary of some its key features:

1. The results are filtered based on user preferences and sorted into categories. As users can choose their own categories, these are then stored for future searches by other users. As in all social apps, the knowledge base grows over time.

2. Decipho also offers a “My Results” section which displays listings for your search that have you have ranked in previous searches, irrespective of their rank in the current search.
3. The social meter allows you to further narrow your search by specifying what level (%) a websites user ranking needs to be for a particular category.
4. Claim your site. This function allows website owners to provide their own description of the website which is available for viewing via a link adjacent to the listing.

While the database still has some growing necessary for it to fully deliver on owner Steven’s vision, it offers some good ideas and further pushes the search world closer to the social sphere.

According to Steven’s comments on TechAddress: “Decipho is self-funded. We are currently not looking to raise money because we currently don’t need it. I’m 24 years old; I don’t need a bloated salary because all I know is being poor.”

Full credit to Steve and his team for these purest beliefs and ideals, but I am sure they will reconsider if the likes of Google present them with a reasonable offer.

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