What follows is a word of caution about the ongoing love for search.

Newspapers have long frustrated users with terrible search functions. Recent improvements using FAST and Planet Discover are long overdue.

Google has proven contextual advertising around search results makes money nationally. But does evidence show that a newspaper can sell its search in a local market? I don't know. There is no proof yet. Suggestions that local search is a cash cow are pure speculation.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m all for speculation. Experimentation often leads to actual innovation. What I’m against is treating speculation as certainty.

A series of newspaper chains agreed on Monday to let their search engines be powered by Yahoo in exchange for a cut of any revenue generated by text ads placed around their results. Seems like a practical approach to making money off search. The assumption here is Yahoo will be able to sell more ads, more quickly into search than any newspaper.

The business case for Yahoo makes sense. In this deal, though, I wonder whether the user loses. It’s probably safe to assume Yahoo will provide nothing on the newspaper Web site that it doesn’t already provide on its portal. In other words, the newspaper search has no competitive advantage.

I like the idea of newspapers creating local search engines, such as one we’re creating for the Sarasota market, Searchasota.com. Through an agreement with the city, Searchasota is the landing page for anyone who logs onto the growing downtown wifi network. Development is an ongoing work in progress, believe me.

With any product, my feeling is that revenues follow eyeballs. If you’re riding the wave of search speculation, allow for time to create a product that people really will use. My guess is advertising will follow – eventually. If you’re not willing to wait, Yahoo-type solutions are a short-term answer.