When Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Bing "decision engine" took final form recently, many internet pundits didn't think it would pose a serious threat to Google, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GOOG) market-leading internet search positioning. Indeed, Bing hasn't really threatened Google in a little over a week since being officially launched.

What is has done is overtake Yahoo Inc.'s (NASDAQ: YHOO) position in second place behind Google -- all in less than seven days. How on earth did Microsoft's Bing shoot up so fast? It's brand new, has a huge amount of hype and online advertising and there is an initial euphoria goading the numbers so far. Will "decision search" customers who continue to use Bing long-term spell deeper trouble for Yahoo!, or just prove that initial-launch bumps can happen and then fade away?

Yahoo, Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) has crept up in the last five months insofar as internet search market share gains. Although the gains have been small from a percentage perspective, the fact that competitor Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has lost a half of a percentage point recently at least is giving Yahoo! some hope. Google still stands way above the competition when it comes to internet search market share at 63% compared to Yahoo!'s 21%.

In a world with failing mortgages, terrorist attacks, the rise of the Chinese economy and greenhouse gases stewing inside the Earth's environment, it's comforting to hear that the top search term on global internet property Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) was -- wait for it -- Britney Spears.

From viewing the top-10 search terms from Yahoo!, one would think the brainless antics of every teenager on the planet was in control of every web browser in our world. While I'll reserve an opinion on Google, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GOOG) top search terms, my impression on Yahoo!'s web search audience is now pretty clear. Oddly, though, the demographic that would be searching for such mind-numbing terms like these are precisely the target many advertisers are looking for. Yay (yawn).

Here are the top-ten, in order: Britney Spears, WWE, Paris Hilton, Naruto (a Japanese manga series), Beyonce, Lindsay Lohan, RuneScape (an online game), Fantasy Football, Fergie and Jessica Alba. Sounds like a who's who of teenage stars and media smut. Nice.

Why do so many millions (or billions) of web surfers care about a has-been teenage diva, or a has been party trash girl? Beats me. But, it does prove one thing -- the world's web surfers can be obsessed by goofy media types and mass-manufactured entertainment personalities. This is kewl while I LOL.

Yahoo! and Netscape, oh my! Both are diving head first into the concept of "social search," integrating the mysterious ranking systems of the search engine with the cool democratic nature of the social bookmarking site. As Time Warner was preparing to launch its beta version of the new Netscape, Yahoo! was talking about integrating del.icio.us and flickr, two very very grassroots-y and user-driven properties, with the unknowable algorithms behind its search engine.

Jeff Weiner of Yahoo! says his social search will "tap the untapped authority of users" while Jonathan Miller of Netscape says "We want to marry the great editorial skill of humans and what systems and software can do to create something that is different and better."

These ideas are good and pretty but I have to wonder: how is this any different from how Google has given more weight to blogs in its search engines? How is this different from giving weight to incoming links (which are the most democratic of all democracies)? Yahoo! thinks I am the untapped authority, but really, I'm quite respectably tapped with some 8000 visitors a day to my personal blog: all through the power of my content. And I'm just the tip of the iceberg, other bloggers who fit the category are cashing checks from Google every month.

It's all lovely, and fun, and a good idea. But social search is just a new way of creating a network effect, and the end result will be no different whether you're getting popular through votes or links from your ever-expanding group of friends.