Yahoo is researching areas such as microeconomics to help it better understand the behavior of users, or of advertisers in areas such as keyword auctions.Microeconomics is an area that Yahoo views as fundamental to its business, and Yahoo Research has created a department focused on research in this area, Prabhakar Raghavan, head of research at Yahoo in Sunnyvale, Calif., told reporters in Bangalore on Thursday. As a billion people use Yahoo services, all with their own divergent motivations, Yahoo needs to understand microeconomics well in order to tailor its services and price them for maximum value to all the participants, including users, advertisers and the company, Raghavan said.Yahoo Research has also set up a team of ethnographers, cognitive psychologists and sociologists to research new media experiences that will promote the formation of online communities, Raghavan said. In the area of computer science, Yahoo Research is working on new middleware technology that will be more relevant to online communities than traditional relational databases. Relational databases are good for running enterprise applications such as payroll and human resources, but they are not good for building applications like friendships and communities—the types of applications that Yahoo is interested in, Raghavan said.Yahoo is also working on a new generation of task-centric search that will not be keyword based, but will analyze free text descriptions from users, to give them more relevant results than they are currently getting from search engines, Raghavan said. “We have to get much smarter to understand and define the user’s intent and deliver to that intent,” he added. The company is also planning to set up a research lab in India, and is already scouting for staff for the lab. The lab will start to hire researchers in computer science, but may also hire staff trained in the humanities such as economists, sociologists and ethnographers, depending on their availability. Yahoo already runs a product development center in Bangalore, India, which is involved in developing key technologies used by Yahoo. The company did not disclose when its lab in India will be in operation or how many staff it will hire. By John Ribeiro, IDG News Service (Bangalore Bureau)Related Links: IBM, Yahoo Launch Free Enterprise Search Tool Yahoo to Offer Internet Telephony in IndiaCheck out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content brandpost Sponsored by BMC BMC on BMC: How the company enables IT observability with BMC Helix and AIOps The goals: transform an ocean of data and ultimately provide a stellar user experience and maximum value. By Jeff Miller Dec 07, 2023 3 mins IT Leadership brandpost Sponsored by BMC The data deluge: The need for IT Operations observability and strategies for achieving it BMC Helix brings thousands of data points together to create a holistic view of the health of a service. By Jeff Miller Dec 07, 2023 4 mins IT Leadership how-to How to create an effective business continuity plan A business continuity plan outlines procedures and instructions an organization must follow in the face of disaster, whether fire, flood, or cyberattack. Here’s how to create a plan that gives your business the best chance of surviving such an By Mary K. Pratt, Ed Tittel, Kim Lindros Dec 07, 2023 11 mins Small and Medium Business IT Skills Backup and Recovery interview WestRock CIDO Amir Kazmi on building resiliency Multidimensional resiliency is vital to setting yourself, your teams, and your organization up for success. Kazmi sets the tone at WestRock by recognizing the pace of change, instilling a learning and growth mindset, and being transparent with his te By Dan Roberts Dec 07, 2023 8 mins IT Strategy Staff Management IT Leadership Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe