The concept of real time search is a fascinating one. The first session I attended on Day 2 at SMX East has focused on this topic of real time search. What is it? Where is it going? Who are the major players going to be? The panel was moderated by Danny Sullivan and includes representation from Google and from new comers in the space like Collecta, CrowdEye, OneRiot, and Topsy.

The conversation was a good one. The new players are focused on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and are working hard to filter through the information on those sites to provide their users with the most relevant real time results when utilizing their new search engines. Their task is daunting. The amount of information on Twitter and the rate at which it has been delivered has been likened to feeding from a fire hose. Then there is Facebook. The information sits behind a walled fortress and that makes it difficult to find and deliver.

Ah the beauty of the chaos. The stakes are high and the public is clamoring. Who will give the people what they want?