Google has announced an interesting expansion of its related search capabilities. The updates to Google's search results will show up in a number of different ways: Search References/Lists When the search query suggests results that may involve a list, Google will show what it calls the "top references" for the query. This may show up for searches such as "greek philosophers," "american authors" and -- as shown below -- "seattle neighborhoods." That display may appear anywhere on the first page of search results. But, if the user clicks on "Ballard" or one of the other names on th [...]

Related Topics: Google: Squared | Google: Web Search

There are a number of ways to describe FindTheBest, the site launched last year by DoubleClick founder Kevin O’Connor. One is "decision engine" another might be "comparison engine," a third could be "anti-search engine." It might be called an "anti-search engine" because, like Blekko's Rich Skrenta, FindTheBest's O'Conner believes that search results have become cluttered and filled with spam. O'Conner wanted to provide structured, "apples-to-apples comparisons" of places, institutions and products with total transparency. The site aggregates and then provides structured comparison dat [...]

Related Topics: Google: Squared | Search Engines: Experimental | Search Engines: Help Engines

At first blush it wasn't impressive to me. I assumed from a quick look that FindTheBest was just a collection of links and "best of" lists. It thus seemed strange that DoubleClick founder Kevin O'Connor would come out of quasi-retirement to launch a basic directory site. But as we got into it a bit more it was clear there was a larger and more interesting project going on. FindTheBest is a kind of comparison engine for structured data of all sorts. It's not an alternative to search per se. In fact it will rely heavily on search and SEO for user discovery. The idea is to provide consumer [...]

Related Topics: Google: Squared | Search Engines: Experimental | Search Engines: Help Engines | Search Engines: Shopping Search Engines | Top News

Google announced they have acquired Metaweb. Metaweb is a search company that figures out entities and not just words. I have a video from the company explaining exactly what that means. In short, Google seems to want to explore and leverage Metaweb's technology to bolster their rich snippet initiative and Google Squared project. As you now know, Google Squared powers Google's quick answers. Google said this acquisition will help them "improve search and make the web richer and more meaningful for everyone." Here is how Google explains future improvements due to Metaweb: Type [bar [...]

Related Topics: Google: Acquisitions | Google: Business Issues | Google: OneBox, Plus Box & Direct Answers | Google: Squared

The Google Mobile Blog announced that Google Squared which now helps power answers on Google.com is now powering some answers on Google Mobile Search. You can see this yourself by visiting google.com on your iPhone, Palm WebOS or Android-powered device in English. Here is an example on [star wars release date: When you tap on "show sources," you will see: [...]

Related Topics: Google: Mobile | Google: OneBox, Plus Box & Direct Answers | Google: Squared | Google: Web Search