One particular alternative to search engines that more and more web surfers are turning to is web rings. A web ring in general is a collection of websites from around the Internet joined together in a circular structure. When used to improve search engine rankings, web rings can be considered a search engine optimization technique. It is a free service and available to anyone with Internet connection.

Each web ring is started by an individual owner and is then organized into major categories. Owners are allowed to either accept or reject requests by web site owners to join the web ring. Web sites included in the ring contain navigational controls for movement within the ring. A central web ring controls web ring navigation. The server helps to prevent dead ends from breaking the ring by automatically forwarding a web surfer on to the next offered web site in a ring.

Once a site is in the ring and it contains the type of information a web surfer likes, there is a really good chance that the rest of the web sites in the ring will also include content that is acceptable by the surfer.

http://www.techcrunchit.com/2008/08/01/welcome-to-web-30-now-your-other-computer-is-a-data-center/

Also very useful to watch the video of  Eric Schmidt at Youtube.
The url is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0QJmmdw3b0