I evaluate AnswerBus, an early natural language search engine from the University of Michigan, comparing its automated question-answering capabilities to the then-popular AskJeeves for retrieving specific information from the web.
I've shared some interesting search tools I've come across, including Direct Hit by AskJeeves, the Copernic multi-site search software, and Flyswat, which integrates message boards into your browser for better web navigation.
I curated a list of specialized search engines for different tasks, including Pinakes for trustworthy sites and tools for the invisible web. Use these resources to find deep web content and verified information outside mainstream search.
I highlight a link showing that Google surprisingly didn't rank itself as the top result for the query "search engine" in 2003, illustrating a notable quirk in early search engine optimization and ranking history.
I explore Room102, a search engine that provides visual site previews. It allows users to see a thumbnail of a website before clicking, making it easier to evaluate the relevance of search results at a glance.
Explore Google Zeitgeist to track search trends and cultural shifts. This tool provides insights into popular queries, alongside similar offerings from Yahoo Buzz, Lycos50, AskJeeves, and Excite that reveal the internet's collective interest.