Yahoo! Releases SearchMonkey Search Development Tool

The web is abuzz with announcements and ideas coming out of the SF Web 2.0 Expo. Among them is the private beta release of Yahoo!'s SearchMonkey search development tool.

SearchMonkey is part of Yahoo!'s larger "open ecosystem," which strives to support semantic web standards. In plain English: more data from developers means richer search results. These modified results will be available in the form of optional applications that users can enable in a way similar to Facebook apps.

Yahoo! cites the integration of Yelp's restaurant price information and photos as an example of how the tool can enrich the user experience and, in Yahoo!'s words, help users "more efficiently ... get from 'to do' to 'to done'."

Check out TechCrunch's detailed post for more info.