How do you feel about semantic search? TipTop?

June 16th, 2009 by Charles S. Knight
Posted in Innovations, Newcomers, Semantic | 10 Comments »

tiptop_logoTipTop (www.feeltiptop.com) is creating a platform of Tips and Tops surrounding all our experiences — a wikipedia of expressions. Our products will open up the social silos of our individual and collective experience. TipTop is harnessing those expressions of experience to help us all make more informed decisions and have choice experiences to share with others. TipTop’s technology and products are today’s solutions for enabling incremental learning and unleashing the power of unique individual and aggregate group experience into the future.

Our mission: Helping people in their personal and professional lives to make informed decisions, have choice experiences, and create greater efficiencies through streamlined interactions.

The problem: There is an increasing amount of structured and unstructured data related to everyone’s offline and online experiences flowing through digital communication channels. Yet, when you want to accomplish common tasks, manage your personal data, compile seemingly disparate pieces of information, or connect with people across social networks it can not be done without extreme effort or advanced technical knowhow on your part. Advancements in Internet technology have effectivly increased the amount and availability of data, however until now there has not been an effective solution to making this data actionable for you. TipTop is developing smart ways to contextually deliver, confidentially share, and intelligently act upon this data for you and your social networks.

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Our solution: Your “Top” is another person’s “Tip”. TipTop applies computational analysis to all life experiences ranking this information into top Tips (positive, “to do” expressions), top Pits (negative, “don’t do” expressions), and those less so.

TipTop analyzes real-time knowledge (opinion, sentiment, and experiences), sorts this information across pre-determined or user-created attributes, uses semantic filtering functions, incorporates complex relevancy and ranking alogrithms, enables filtering by related concepts, and discovery of information through related categories. (Whew!)

TipTop makes it easy for you to:
*Find information relevant to you through search and discovery.
*Have fun discovering, learning, and acting while being effective at the same time.
*Make informed decisions based upon others experiences and insights.
*Optimize your and others’ life experiences armed with actionable knowledge.
*Share what is on the top of your mind and tips you have learned along the way.
*Help others improve their life experiences.
*Collect, save, share and add to data useful to your and others’ lives.
*Get the latest news and most relevant content immediately.
*Learn what people think about topics now and over time.
*Get a variety of answers to your questions and fine tune the results based upon your situation.
*Discover how you, your followers, events, brands, and products or services are expressed.
*Influence and share your world the way you want to.

Source: TipTop

The latest from Taptu in under two minutes!

June 16th, 2009 by Charles S. Knight
Posted in Updates, iPhone | No Comments »

Taptu iPhone Search App Allows Users to ‘Flick’ Through Search Results

  • With over 1 million daily searches, Taptu is revolutionizing mobile search by providing iPhone users with the best search interface, search results optimized for viewing on the iPhone and the ability to easily share results and discover new content.
  • Taptu today announced the immediate availability of its iPhone app that improves search on the iPhone with an easy-to-use interface and iPhone-friendly search results.
  • Performing a search on an iPhone can be a frustrating task, as the results are the same as those received on a desktop search and may not be viewable on a phone, for example a Web site running on Flash. Additionally, results are provided in long lists and multiple pages.

Key Features of the Taptu App:

  • iPhone-Friendly Results: Taptu’s iPhone app only provides results that are iPhone-optimized, which eliminates the hassle of resizing, pinching and refocusing sites.
  • Flick Don’t Click: Instead of scrolling down a list of search results like on a desktop, Taptu iPhone app users flick through the visual previews of the results produced by Taptu horizontally (the same way that photos are viewed on the iPhone). The visual preview slides lets users quickly navigate through results and select the one most relevant.
  • Search Multiple Platforms: In addition to providing comprehensive search engine results, Taptu’s iPhone app allows users to filter search results and find information from specific source or types, for example Twitter, Wikipedia, blogs or videos.
  • Share Your Results: Taptu’s iPhone app lets users to easily share results via Twitter, Facebook and email.
  • Discover New Content: Taptu understands that mobile search should help users’ expand their outlook and has made discovery an essential part of the app by presenting recommended and related searches including charts, lists and “also try’s.”

Steve Ives, founder and CEO of Taptu: “With iPhone-search continuing to grow, it is vital to make search as simple as possible while providing users with the most relevant content on their devices. Taptu’s iPhone app allows users to quickly and easily search through iPhone-optimized results in an intuitive and visual interface. The launch of the iPhone app is a huge step for Taptu, as the app addresses a key need for iPhone users.”

Source: Taptu.com

Availability:

The Taptu app is now available for free download in the iPhone App Store and is compatible with all versions of iPhone and iPod touch. If you’re the owner of a mobile or an iPhone-optimized site, then ensure you’re on Taptu by submitting your site here.  n

Effektive Blogsuche mit Search TagCloud

June 16th, 2009 by Guest Author
Posted in Global, Guest Authors, Unique Interfaces | No Comments »

By Alexander Liebrecht here.

Jeder kennt die Webrecherche oder einfache Internetsuche mit diversen Suchmaschinen wie Google und Co., aber in diesem Beitrag möchte ich euch etwas anderes, für mich und vielleicht für euch ebenfalls Neues, vorstellen. Der Anbieter heisst Quintura und hat einen Suchdienst mithilfe von Search TagClouds realisiert. Das bedeutet, dass man einen beliebigen Suchbegriff in die Suchmaschine eintippt und es wird eine TagCloud mit relevanten Begriffe angezeigt.

Fährt man mit der Maus über einen der Begriffe, werden wiederum themenpassende Begriffe angezeigt. Es ist ideal, um sich auf diese Art und Weise ohne grossartig scrollen und hin und her blättern zu müssen, eine Menge von zugleich relevanten Suchergebnissen anzeigen zu lassen.

Funktionieren, tut es auch mit Bildern, Videos und Amazon-Links.

Wenn man zum Beispiel sich für einen Suchbegriff entschieden hat, welches man mit einer flash-oder-javascript-basierten TagCloud im eigenen Blog anzeigen will, dann klickt man innerhalb von Quintura auf “Embed it” und dann kann mit mit Hilfe von einigen Optionen und Einstellung diese TagCloud auf dem eigenen Blog anzeigen lassen. Links unten im Bild seht ihr, wie diese Darbietung optisch aussieht.

1Das ist eine Online version von Quintura, aber es gibt noch eine externe Version, welche man als Freeware herunterladen kann, was leider entweder auf Englisch oder Russisch ist.

Dann gibt es aber noch eine zweite Seite der Medaille und zwar nochmals positiv gesehen, zumal man hier wiederum etwas im Affili-Marketing machen kann. So dass man bei den Bildern einen kleinen Banner beim Anfahren mit der Maus angezeigt bekommt.

Diese Search TagCloud ist derzeit in meiner Blog-Sidebar integriert worden. Was ich mir davon erhoffe? Dass die Besucher es nutzen, um dadurch mehr Inhalte im Blog finden zu können und vor allem so themenrelevant wie möglich.

2Dafür tippt einfach einen Begriff in die TagCloud-Suchmaske und bewegt die Maus über die erscheinenden themengleiche Begriffe. Die Handhabung an sich ist sehr einfach. Was bei mir im Blog nicht funktioniert oder ich habe ein Detail beim Installieren übersehen, ist es, dass man eigentlich aus dem TagCloud heraus einen neuen halb so grossen Tab mit mehreren Suchergebnissen nicht angezeigt bekommt.

Warum es auf einmal nicht geht, kann ich nun nicht mehr herausfinden. Der TagCloud kann auch der Blogbreite angepasst werden und in einem neuen Beitrag eingefügt werden.

Zusätzlich könnt ihr Quintura auch als ein externes Tools nutzen, wie bereits oben unter dem Downloadlink erwähnt. Diese Suchmaschinen können durchsucht werden, was ich sehr praktisch fand und mir hat die Themenrelevanz der zusammenhängenden Begriffe ganz gut gefallen.

◦Alta Vista
◦Amazon
◦Dogpile
◦Download.com
◦Google inkl. Blog Search, Desktop und News
◦Metacrawler
◦Technorati
◦Wikipedia(EN)
◦und andere

31Obendrein lassen sich auch andere Suchmaschinen in den Settings von dem Tool aktivieren, somit ist sehr umfangreich und breitflächig einsetzbar. Aber auch bei der Personensuche fand ich diese Veranschaulichung im TagCloud sehr nützlich. Man tippt den eigenen Nachnamen ein und sieht zugleich, in welchem Zusammenhang dieser im Web vorkommt.

Daher kann ich es auch empfehlen, sich diese Software anzuschauen und bei Interesse das Widget im Blog zu installieren. Gerne würde ich eure Erfahrungen und Kritik hierzu in Form eines Kommentars lesen. Darunter seht ihr weitere Screenshots dieser Anwendung.

Im Bild links unter dem roten Pfeil befindet sich der eingetippte Suchbegriff, gelb markierte Bereiche sind die Tags und grün markiert habe ich die Blogbeiträge passend zum Tag gekennzeichnet.

Darunter ist noch der Link “More results” und genau dieser funktioniert auf einmal nicht und führt wieder zu der Blogstartseite und nicht zu weiteren themenrelevanten Ergebnissen. Naja, vielleicht bekommt ihr das besser hin.

A message from Collecta CEO Gerry Campbell

June 16th, 2009 by Guest Author
Posted in Guest Authors, Innovations, Newcomers | 2 Comments »

collectaDear AltSearchEngines readers,

Thanks for your interest in Collecta and real-time search.

We’ve been quiet over the past couple weeks because we’ve been cranking hard to get the foundation in place for Collecta. It hasn’t been easy, but it will definitely be worth it.

What’s so hard you ask? Collecta has re-invented search from the ground up. That’s not a small task given the decades of research and billions of dollars involved in the established industry approach to search.

Collecta is different because we are focused on a question that other approaches cannot answer: “what is being said on the web about my topic right now?” Not ten minutes ago, not on a single site, but the web in its entirety… blogs, news sites, social messaging sites… all of the places where new information is entering public awareness.

It’s a bold claim and we aren’t done. We’re just starting. But we’re getting ready to launch our beta and share it with you.

What you’ll see is a search site. The front page may seem deceptively similar to other search engines you’re familiar with. Don’t be fooled.

Once you put your search terms into the box and kick off a search, it will be like nothing you have ever seen before. The web will lay itself at your feet. You’ll be able to watch as news stories unfold, as people argue on the merits of the president’s foreign policy and as your favorite sports teams battle for the championship spots.

After the beta is launched, we are going to want your feedback! What do you like, what don’t you like and how can we make it more useful? There will be opportunities to submit feedback, but also please ping me and the team directly so we can start a dialog… that’s the best way I know to make sure we understand and can incorporate your thoughts.

So, hang tight for just another few days. We’ll get right back to you with details on our launch timing.

Thanks for your interest, and here’s to the future of search!

Gerry Campbell
CEO, Collecta

ChaCha answers 150,000,000 questions (that’s a lot!)

June 16th, 2009 by Charles S. Knight
Posted in Mobile, Updates, Verticals | No Comments »

text_chachaChaCha ranked among the top 10 short message services with the most traffic — including Facebook, Twitter and American Idol — according to the newly released Q1 Mobile Messaging Report from Nielsen. Providing answers for the Sundance Film Festival to the Presidential Election, ChaCha is growing faster than any other SMS answers service. Since its launch 18 months ago, ChaCha has answered more than 150 million questions via cell phones and the web.

ChaCha’s audience extends to the web, too. According to Quantcast, www.chacha.com ranks among the top web sites in the United States with more than 2.3 million monthly unique users. With more than 14 million searchable questions and answers and thousands of new answers published to the site every day in categories such as sports, entertainment, health, beauty and travel, ChaCha has increased its traffic 1,000 percent since its launch in January 2008.

“Hitting the 150 million answer mark changes the search dynamic,” said ChaCha CEO Scott A. Jones. “Our explosive progress reflects the way today’s very mobile consumers want to search and retrieve information — ChaCha is a huge win for both our customers and our advertisers.”

In January 2008, ChaCha introduced its free mobile answers service, which leverages human guides or keywords to provide free answers to any question, anytime, anywhere. Users don’t need a Web-enabled phone or special browsers to search the Internet, and ChaCha answers go far beyond directory assistance. For free, mobile customers simply text 242242 or call 1-800-2ChaCha on their mobile phones, ask their questions and receive concise, relevant answers via text messaging.