At launch Collecta was able to keep pace with the web by returning search results as they happen from Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, blogs, and news sites. Today they've ramped up their catalog of searchable sites to include in real-time search results from more video sites — 12seconds, UStream, and Qik — and improved image search for TwitPic and yFrog.
Real-time web search is still in its infancy, and we're likely to see this space continue to heat up over the coming months. We already have Microsoft in the game with BingTweets and integrated tweets within search results, we know that Google's working on something big around real-time search, and it's apparent that Facebook's going to take a stab as well.
That's why today's news is important, because we're already starting to see Collecta refine their engine before the bigger players get a foothold. Improved search around Twitter images is a big deal, especially as more and more people take to Twitter to share their photos. Plus, the addition of even more relevant social sites means your real-time search results span the web and some of the hottest near real-time video properties right now.
Of course we expect heavy competition from all the players, and though we do find Collecta's engine to be incredibly useful, we're still waiting for that perfect real-time search engine that combines context with speed. We're not there yet, but every new development is a step in the right direction.