Wow.

I just found out about these search engines today.   I just read about riya in a photo trade magazine, and tried it out when I got home. From what I can tell, they're revolutionary! 

From the 'like.com' website:

like.com wrote:
About Like

Like.com is the first true visual search engine, where the contents of photos are used to search and retrieve similar items.

We believe that there are literally millions of items that are difficult to describe via text-based search and where individual tastes are all over the map -- think of your favorite pair of earrings or shoes and what an ordeal it can be to find something new but in a similar style.

We created Like.com to solve the challenge of finding "the perfect you" for a broad range of aesthetic and soft goods.

Like.com utilizes our Likeness Technology™ to create a digital signature that describes the photo's contents and enables a more accurate search for similar looking items and products.
Our initial launch focuses on handbags, jewelry, shoes, and watches - allowing users to search and purchase items from thousands of leading and boutique brands. We will very quickly add clothing and a number of other aesthetically oriented product categories.

Key features of Like.com include:

    * Likeness Search™ - the ability to search by image instead of text;
    * Like Detail™ - finds items that have a specific feature you like (such as a buckle, straps, bezel, etc);
    * Like Color™ - find color variants of the item you desire;
    * Like Celebrity™ - find clothing, shoes and accessories similar to those worn by your favorite celebrities;
    * Like Upload™ - the ability to upload your own photo of your favorite item and find the same or similar products, coming soon.
    * To learn more about Like.com and the great ways to use the product make sure to visit our blog . Happy shopping!


About Riya
Riya was founded in August 2004 and has assembled one of the largest visual computing research teams in the world. Its mission is to simplify search and ecommerce by harnessing the latest breakthroughs in visual computing. It has almost one dozen patents pending in the areas of visual recognition and search. Riya has raised $19.5 million from venture and private equity investors, including Bay Partners, BlueRun Ventures, and Leapfrog Ventures.

As a test, I picked out an image of a handbag.  I highlighted the oval Samsonite label and like.com searched out a variety of handbags with an oval label.

The two websites are still in their infancy, but as the quickly evolving technology improves, you'll be able to find specific photos of people, or find people that look similar to each other... all by just clicking on a photo.

(Riya doesn't work with ie7, but works with ie6, Firefox, and Flock)