• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, April 30, 2013

Industry observers have been waiting for search engines to do a better job at making search more “social” by figuring out how to show people results based, in part, on data from their online friends. But is this type of data really that relevant?

The answer depends on the situation, says Derek Tucker, Corel Corporation senior global marketing manager. When it comes to major purchases -- like vacations, expensive gadgets or software -- customer reviews are for more important than friends' opinions. “Do I give a damn what my friends think about the camera? No, I care about what those customer reviews are,” he says. “To say social is the future of search is a bit of a misnomer.”