Who's winning in today's US presidential election between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney? Who's ahead for the many House of Representatives and US Senate seats that are up for grabs? Who won in the many state and local elections happening? The major search engines of Google, Bing and Yahoo have you covered with answers. Bing At Bing, a search for "election results" will bring up a small box with the latest in the presidential race: Clicking on the main "Presidential election results" link or the smaller "Election Map" or "State Races" links below the latest count takes you to the Bi [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Features: Analysis | Google: Web Search | Microsoft: Bing | Search Engines: Government Search Engines | Yahoo: Search

The final debate between U.S. presidential candidates Obama and Rommney airs tonight. Until the election next month, a lot of attention will continue to be on the presidential and vice presidential debates. Here's an easy and free way to keyword search debate video and then immediately view the video online. In fact, all of the presidential debates back to 1988 can offer keyword searchable video. Where do you search and access? Visit the wonderful, irreplaceable and important C-SPAN Video Library. I'll be taking an in-depth look at this resource in an upcoming report but [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Video | Features: General | Search Engines: Government Search Engines | Search Engines: Video Search Engines

At the beginning of the year I wrote about PolitickerUSA, a free tool that allows users to quickly and easily read tweets from members of congress and other political leaders. Today, I want to point out another free service named Politwoops that launched at the end of May. Here, users can access and read tweets that have been deleted by members of congress. In their words: Politwoops, the only comprehensive collection of deleted tweets by U.S. politicians. From minor typos to major gaffes, Politwoops is now there to offer a searchable window into what they hoped you didn't see. The P [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Features: General | Search Engines: Government Search Engines | Twitter: Search

Big news for genealogists, historians and even for people just curious about their own families: the 1940 U.S. Census is now available on the web. Unfortunately, at this point at least, it takes a bit of skill and determination to navigate through the data, though there are many efforts underway to make this incredibly valuable trove of data more easily searchable. For more info and to begin searching, here’s a collection of direct links to some helpful material. Since the database became available on the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) last week I’ve heard from [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Search Engines: Government Search Engines | Search Engines: People Search

As a librarian, researcher and frequent blogger, I'm constantly coming across incredibly useful online information resources that are most effectively searched using their own site search tools, rather than relying on general-purpose engines to surface their valuable content. I plan to start writing about these on a regular, ongoing basis, using a bullet-point format that highlights the most useful features of each resource, rather than doing in-depth reviews. Without further ado, here are the first four (of many more to come). C-SPAN Video Library Cost: free In three words, amazin [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Video | Features: General | Search Engines: Government Search Engines | Search Engines: Other Search Engines | Search Engines: Photo & Image Search | Search Engines: Video Search Engines

The U.S. government generates a wealth of useful and interesting information. Despite excellent government-oriented search engines like USA.gov and Data.gov, government information isn't always easy to find. That's why if you use government information it's important to put together your own toolkit of specialized government-related search engines. Here's a roundup of several new search tools that have come online in the couple of weeks. FAA Mobile Web App Since it's a mobile app nothing to download Lookup aircraft tail numbers, get airport status, and several tools for aviators Lea [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Search Engines: Government Search Engines

You have one less excuse for being an uninformed voter this election year in the U.S. Google has launched a new U.S. politics/election hub at google.com/elections. It's kinda like the Google News "Elections" section, but with different filtering options on news content and added data related to this year's campaigns. The new elections hub has predefined filters for the major U.S. presidential candidates (President Obama along with seven Republicans), as well as some of the primary issues being discussed (healthcare, government spending, etc.) Google News offers similar filtering opt [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Google: Other | Search Engines: Government Search Engines | Top News

Yesterday, Search Engine Roundtable and InfoDocket both pointed out that Google's U.S. government specialty search tools, Google-Uncle Sam and USGov.Google.com had been offline for several days. Additionally, Google's long time specialty search tools Linux Search, Microsoft Search, Apple Search, and BSD Search were also unavailable. Google has now confirmed both to us via email and on a Google Web Search Help Forum thread that all of these specialty search tools are no longer available. Uncle Sam and the computer specialty search search sites had been available for a at least a decade. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Google: Web Search | Search Engines: Custom Search Engines | Search Engines: Government Search Engines

Want to explore the "Cablegate" material that Wikileaks released last week for yourself, but have no idea where to start? There's a new search engine for the material. Cablesearch: A Google For Cablegate Called Cablesearch, it's a project from the Eccar: The European Center of Computer Assisted Reporting. Gary Price from ResourceShelf tipped us to the new resource today, and he also writes it up here. I played around with the service a little, trying to search for some key terms mentioned in articles by The Guardian from the leaked cables. I found it hit and miss. This seems most likely d [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Search Engines: Government Search Engines | Wikileaks

Move over Google, Yahoo, and Bing; blended results or not, personalized search, Twitter results and OneBoxes ... you guys are just too predictable for this article. There's a new breed of search engines out there, and they're letting users search and find some utterly crazy stuff. And by "crazy," I mean a lot of things: unique, cool, awesome, and downright strange. Sometimes all of the above. A search engine that lets you find (and buy) discontinued soda pop? Check. A search engine that helps you find cheap Amazon.com items so you can get free shipping? Sure! A search engine to locate misspell [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Search Engines: Disasters | Search Engines: Government Search Engines | Search Engines: Health & Medical Search Engines | Search Engines: Other Search Engines | Top News

As a nation, the US seems to be more interested in politics than we've been in a long time. Voter turnout in last year's presidential election was 61%, the first time it passed 60% in 40 years. When President Obama was inaugurated in January, Google reported spikes in search activity. Yahoo said that inaugural search trends were the result of "a large, internet-savvy constituency who demand more from the internet than they did four years ago." But now that the election and inauguration are distant memories, how do we search today for news about the important decisions being made in Washingt [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Features: General | Search Engines: Government Search Engines

Google has been visualizing US primary election data and, in anticipation of the US presidential election, has now created a Google Maps Elections Gallery. There is a wide range of data here, from election results, to Twitter Tweets and search query volumes for each candidate. All the maps can also be embedded. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Google: Maps & Local | Search Engines: Government Search Engines

Today is Super Tuesday, which means that voters in 24 states are carefully reviewing their candidate research and doing last minute thoughtful analysis in preparation for voting in the primaries. Well, maybe that's hopeful optimism, but in any case, the place these voters are turning to for information is increasingly the internet. Makes sense, as after all, the internet continues to play a larger role in how we get information generally. And in the case of politics, this turn to digital is in some ways bringing back the roots of American politics -- when communities got together and discus [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Search & Society: General | Search Engines: Government Search Engines | SEO: General

The US Geological Survey and Google are now making global earthquake data available in Google Earth as one of the layers under "Places of Interest." According to the USGS: USGS and Google signed an agreement to publish historic earthquake data from the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) catalog as a "built-in" layer, accessible directly from the Google Earth viewer . . . The new layer includes historic earthquakes since 1900, and USGS real-time earthquakes are now accessible as a hyperlink from within Google Earth. If the layer is checked, users will see a sprinkling of dots across the [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Google: Earth | Search Engines: Government Search Engines

Google has been plotting election results from the US presidential primaries on maps. Those maps have included candidate and news videos. But now for "Super Tuesday" (February 5), Google is doing something somewhat more ambitious over at YouTube -- call it "Super Tubesday." The site will offer geotagged political videos from candidates, users, and various news outlets. The Google LatLong Blog explains: Anyone -- from candidates and voters to members of media -- can upload videos to YouTube and geotag them so they can be tracked and viewed on a Google Map that resides in the Super Tuesday ch [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Video | Google: Maps & Local | Google: YouTube & Video | Search Engines: Government Search Engines | Search Engines: Video Search Engines

AOL's video search engine Truveo has created a new election videos site/area that collects candidate videos as well as commentary and news footage. Truveo claims the site is more comprehensive in terms of its sources and range of content than others. YouTube offers YouChoose, featuring candidate and user-generated videos, and Yahoo News has election-related video. MSN video offers election coverage as well. [...]

Related Topics: AOL: Video | Channel: Video | Search Engines: Government Search Engines

The Library of Congress has teamed up with Flickr to create The Commons. The Library of Congress has added a sample of their over one million photos to Flickr, so that the Flickr community can help describe the photos through tagging. My Friend Flickr: A Match Made in Photo Heaven from the Library of Congress Blog writes that the goal of this partnership is to help "better access to our collections, and how to ensure that we have the best possible information about those collections for the benefit of researchers and posterity." They have selected about 1,500 photos each from two of their m [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Search Engines: Government Search Engines | Yahoo: Flickr

Google has been showcasing its primaries mapplets, which offer results breakdowns by candidate and county, as well as other information (e.g., video). The Google LatLong blog now posts about how the candidates, campaign staffers, and other third parties are using the Google Maps and Maps API to showcase their messages and organize political volunteers and activists in upcoming primaries throughout the country. Yahoo's "political dashboard" also offers a range of interesting polling and demographic data about the candidates, their support, and the various primaries. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Google: Maps & Local | Search Engines: Government Search Engines

A PEW/Internet and American Life study out today finds that the place Americans turn to most for answers is the internet. The study, which surveyed 2,796 Americans, found that 76% have internet access and that 58% turn to the internet when they have questions about things like health, school, careers, and government issues. The project focused on how people use the internet, libraries, and government resources when they need to solve problems and found that those without high-speed internet access (no access or dial-up only) were less satisfied with their ability to get the answers they were s [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Google: Health | Search & Society: General | Search Engines: Government Search Engines | Search Engines: Health & Medical Search Engines | Stats: General | Stats: Search Behavior

According to the South Florida Business Journal, Florida will be working with Google "to create new search engine features for those looking for government services online." Google will be indexing Florida state databases that are currently not discoverable via the Internet. Other states with similar programs include California, Arizona, Michigan, Utah, and Virginia. Google also offers US government search. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Google: Partnerships | Search Engines: Government Search Engines