All Entries Tagged With: "search engines"
Twitter Search Is Changing & Businesses Should Take Note!
When I read this morning that Twitter plans to index content in the near future, much like a search engine does, my head began to buzz with ideas on why businesses both large and small should take note of this. In fact, it is going to become increasingly important for business owners everywhere to make sure they not only have representation on Twitter but that they are deeply involved as well.
Is Ask Giving Up Battle for Search or Staying the Course? Which is True?
Lot’s of talk related to search engine Ask lately. First there were rumors that Ask would be laying off some of its workforce and abandoning the Teoma technology they had worked so hard on the last few years. Then Ask responds and calls the rumors false. Those of us who are cheering Ask on in the battle for search market share breathed a sign of relief… but not for long. The next day a story breaks reporting that Ask has laid off 8% of their workforce (40 jobs) and that they were changing the strategy of the search engine to “focus to better answering search queries posed as questions.” This was followed by a report that Ask would become a search engine geared towards married women.
If that wasn’t enough drama, today we hear from Ask once again claiming that despite all the rumors and speculation, they remain committed to search. Are you confused? I know I am.
Let the Privacy Wars Begin!
I was asked recently if Google’s dominance in search would ever change, at least anytime soon, to which I responded that I did not believe so unless they make a major mistake. And what is the most crucial area that Google needs to pay close attention to? How they handle privacy.
More and more Internet users are worried about the amount of information Google and other search engines have on them. In fact, my father recently told me that he was through with Google because he feels they have become a type of “big brother.” He does not trust their privacy policy practices.
How Search Engines Possibly Rerank Web Pages Prior to Query
Bill Slawski who is an expert at tearing into all the patents search engines file and explaining them in layman’s terms has put together a list of twenty possible ways search engines rerank pages before they deliver them to a searcher. I’ll list the first three below but definitely check the entire article out as it is an interesting read.
Current State of Who Powers Who in Search
Before I write anything, let me preface this post by saying that this information will probably change not too long after it is written. I am referring to who powers who in the realm of search engines. There are currently four major search engines – Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask (formerly Ask Jeeves). While many other search engines and meta crawlers exist, most of them are powered by one of these “major” engines. Here is a quick rundown of who powers who.
New Site Helps Keep Track of Sexual Offenders
A new site has been launched by the National Coalition of Victims in Action called “Family Watchdog.” The site uses a local map search function powered by Google which then displays sex offenders in specific geographical areas. One can search by address, city, state and zip code.
