Saturday, June 27, 2009

Search: The Human Vs. The Machine


Search will remain the most exciting aspect of the web experience. Content creation and search will keep feeding on each other ad infinitum. Communication is important, but not the number one function on the web. It is content consumption. Search, search and more search.

Step one is conceptual. What would be the best possible formula? Twitter does not feel the need to index the entire web. The idea that because Google has the largest index of webpages and so it will always be number one has been challenged in ways small and big recently.

Twitter said no thanks absolutely to indexing. Wolfram Alpha said forget the 10 blue lines, let me get you straight to the answer. Bing said maybe we can't do better at search, and we are almost as good, but how about trying to beat Google on the presentation of search results? We are not a search engine, that would be Google. We are a decision engine, we will help you make better, faster decisions.

Disclosure: I have yet to visit the new Bing page, but I hope to shortly.

If you think about it, Google is like Twitter. Most links placed on the web are human decisions. I decide what sites and blogs and news articles and videos to link to from my blog. A purely machine oriented search engine would not care about who links to whom. It would be about how often those links are clicked on to generate visits to your site, to your page. But then depending solely on visits to rank a site might also not work. The most popular are not necessarily the best. Or we would all end up on the CNN site to learn about the latest in quantum physics.

If we could come with a great formula then we could ask, do we have the technology to deliver? Can we get it if we don't have it?

And that is not even getting into the niche search engines. You can limit to show your AdWords ads within a certain geographical region. You should be able to localize your search similarly. Localize in terms of space and time. Show me only pages that were created during the past hour on this topic. The past minute. The past 10 seconds. The past minute in Queens. On this topic.

Dynamic PageRank And Real Time Search
Microblogging Search: What Took Google So Long?
Square Search
Blogger Search Gadget: What Took You So Long?
Wolfram Alpha: An Answer Engine, Not A Search Engine

This is how the PageRank works.Image via Wikipedia


Real Time Search: Twitter Is Not Doing It
Distributed Search
Google Is Working On Search
Search Come Full Circle: That Human Element
The Search Results, The Links, The Inbox, The Stream
Search: Much Is Lacking
The Next Search Engine
Email, Search, News

Numeric examples of PageRanks in a small system.Image via Wikipedia

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Friday, June 26, 2009

Michael Jackson's Death And The Internet: A New Way To Mourn

Michael JacksonMichael Jackson via last.fm

Michael Jackson: A Tribute
Outpouring of searches for the late Michael Jackson

We are no longer faceless fans. We have a voice. We have known to be heard on a presidential campaign trail. And, by God, we are going to mourn. That seems to be the feeling. There has been this immense outpouring of emotion. Michael Jackson touched many hearts over decades. He was a child in an adults' world, sometimes lost, always loved.

Only someone of his stature could have sparked rumors of an internet meltdown. In his death Michael Jackson has written a whole new chapter to this concept called social media.

In The News

Can the Internet handle big breaking news? CNet
HP calculators reborn on iPhone, Windows
Buy-buy Michael Jackson

In Scream, Jackson and his sister Janet angril...Image via Wikipedia


Google thought Michael Jackson traffic was attack
Watch what Microsoft's new security app can do
The cathedral plus the bazaar: Open source and Apple (design) envy
CNET News Daily Podcast: Great spots for globetrotting geeks
Sites swamped after Jackson death
Jackson popular on iTunes, YouTube
Apple triples stake in U.K. chip company

ICANN names new CEO
The greening of tech packaging
Will Novell, Dell turn to open-source M&A to grow?
Latest version of Cooliris embraces browser tabs
Apple confirms it banned iPhone porn app
Microsoft sets Windows 7 pricing, upgrade programs
News sites swamped following Michael Jackson's death

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 26:  The crew and cast ...Image by Getty Images via Daylife


Michael Jackson's death roils Wikipedia
Friday Poll: Which Android app will Google ban first?
Acer's sleek-looking 23-incher coming soon
Couple sues Apple over iTunes gift cards
Week in review: Steve Jobs' secret transplant
In wake of loss, Palm looks to Pre as savior
Thumbing Windows 7 onto Netbooks
Android developers get native-code kit
Beijing adding more curbs to Net access
iPhone syncing app adds voice mail and memo transfers
Indecent Exposure 52: Invalidated expectations

Michael Jackson, cropped from :Image:Michael J...Image via Wikipedia


Cook up a storm without heating up the house
The cathedral plus the bazaar: Open source and Apple (design) envy
Expert: China's Green Dam software is unsafe
Gartner: PC sales to pick up by end of the year
Synthetic 'tree' promises to catch carbon
CNET News Daily Podcast: Great spots for globetrotting geeks
Watch what Microsoft's new security app can do
IEEE awards prizes for tech that benefits humanity

Jackson Death Fires Music Sales BusinessWeek
Settling Jackson's Estate May Be a Thriller
The World's Rich Part with $7.9 Trillion in Assets
Are Smarter Gadgets Good for the Planet?
EU Moots Social Network Privacy Rules
How to Kick Off an Innovation Project
China May Reject GM Hummer Deal on Environmental Concerns
Can Airbus Press Its Advantage Over Boeing
Hedge Funds Face Triple Conundrum
Mohandas Pai Likely to Assume Key Role at Infosys
Recession in the Midwest
Stocks Finish with Strong Gains
Vital Signs: Encouraging News for the Weak Labor Markets
Time Warner, Comcast Plan to Wall Off Online TV
Nortel Liquidation Could Cripple Microsoft Tie
Cash for Clunkers: What Can $1 Billion Buy?
Ads That Break the Mold and Grab Attention
Admissions Chat: Duke

Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection album...Image via Wikipedia


For Pro Athletes, Business School Is No Game
Vanderbilt: A Small School with Big Ambitions
Wimbledon 2009: Great Tennis, Corporate Excess
A Blushing Beauty From Provence
Credit-Card Companies: Who Qualifies Now?
Cash for Clunkers: What Can $1 Billion Buy?
Ads That Break the Mold and Grab Attention
Changing Your Corporate Culture
The Knowledge Workers' Strike
How Good Is Your Audit Firm?
An Inspiring Leader Is an Optimistic One
Why Less Is More for Startups
What Small Business Owners Want from Obama
How to Moonwalk like Michael Time
Photos: Michael Jackson's Years of Innocence
Top 10 Michael Jackson Songs
Top 10 Michael Jackson Moments
  1. Ben album coverImage via Wikipedia

    Michael Jackson: The Death of Peter Pan
  2. A Pop Icon's Death: The Talent and the Tragedy
  3. What Happened to Michael Jackson's Millions?
  4. Michael Jackson's Mysterious Medical Past
  5. Remembering Michael Jackson on Twitter
  6. Big In Japan: Tokyo Mourns Jackson's Death
  7. Top 10 Michael Jackson Moments
  8. How to Moonwalk like Michael
  9. The Metro Crash: A Nation's Aging Transit System
  10. Farrah Fawcett: The Golden Girl Who Didn't Fade
Obama Scoffs at Ahmadinejad Critcism

Number Ones album coverImage via Wikipedia



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