Towards open search applications for the broader community

In recent years, a handful of commercial search providers dominated the worlds search ecosystem and, to a large extent, the world’s information flow. Over the years, many open issues relating to such a dominating ecosystem have been identified, and multiple tools and user groups were created in an attempt to address these issues. As part of the Open Search Foundation’s Applications Working Group, we aim to
explore open-search-based applications which could address the identified issues. To that end, this paper aims to identify privacy issues connected to the reliance on a few commercialised search solutions, potential data sources which could
be used to enhance an open search index, as well as app ideas for enhancing and leveraging an open search index.
A first pilot study was performed with two diverse student groups to get an insight into user requirements related to open search.
The findings indicate that students with substantial technical knowledge see search result and market manipulation as the main issues. In contrast, students with less technical knowledge see ads and recommended content as issues. Furthermore, many data sources for an open index have been identified. Finally, a multitude of apps for extending as well as using an open search index was identified. These insights
can be used to conduct further studies and guide the development process of new independent apps based on an open search index concept