byoms.com has created a service that lets you create your own IM search bots. Help me test it! The following button should add an IM search bot buddy to your AIM contact list that will let you search BigBlueBall.com.
Why would you bother? Well, this gives you a lightweight method for searching very specific sites via IM, useful even using a mobile phone. Try it and share your comments.
Here’s a screenshot of my BigBlueBall search bot in action:
There is no help that I could find. You type a message, and it searches based on your text. There are options to configure the number of results returned and the kind of links displayed. I’m using the “short” style in the screenshot above. As you can see, the results were not perfect, but pretty close.
As a side note, you’ll also see that I’m running the latest AIM Triton beta, which includes inline advertising in the chat window. Sigh.
I’m surprised you didn’t get rid of the ads! I have tried out the search thing and it’s pretty cool. Yeah, not so exact, but hey, I can now search BBB anywhere!
I’m surprised you didn’t get rid of the ads! I have tried out the search thing and it’s pretty cool. Yeah, not so exact, but hey, I can now search BBB anywhere!