Today we’ve released a new CC content search interface on our Labs site for an initial live beta, testing some interface variations, before completely replacing our current search UI.

Why are we changing it?

Many of you use and love search.creativecommons.org, judging by actual use and tweets about the service.

After four years of the current tabbed interface, we have become increasingly aware of how many sites provide CC licensed content and would like to be included on CC Search. Due to the nature of tabs, there just isn’t room to easily showcase all these great sites. We’ve come a long way since our original selection of Google, Yahoo, and Flickr.

The current search embeds providers inside an iframe, which can be frustrating or confusing if you come to the site to find your favorite search providers wrapped in our frame.

I gave a brief presentation on the new search UI beta at a Creative Commons staff meeting recently. You can watch the UStream recording here.

Before we change the UI on search.creativecommons.org (also accessible via our home page and Firefox), we have some things to do: see how people use the beta, get feedback, and have the new interface translated into several languages.

Visit http://labs.creativecommons.org/demos/search, let us know what you think, tell your friends, and share it amongst your network.