The Web Beyond Google Part 2

Search Engine
Wolfram Alpha wolframalpha.com

Description Wolfram|Alpha is a knowledge engine that aims to provide a single source that can be relied on by everyone for definitive answers to factual queries. It is a one-stop shop for ready reference queries, complex calculations, and any comparison one can think of (ex: banana vs orange; New York City vs Starkville).
A direct competitor with Google, DuckDuckGo offers full internet searching to its users. However, this searching does not gather user information or distribute information to other companies that create targeted ads. Searches within the slides of lecture webcasts from college courses, TEDTalks, Khan Academy. Slanted towards science but expanding in scope. Focuses on academic lectures, not music or entertainment videos. Sematic engine that creates a textual summary rather than a random list of links. Extracts meaningful statements, facts, stats, from top sites. Helps users formulate an opinion by displaying multiple perspectives. Like Opposing Viewpoints. Based in part on trending social media topics, Blekko is a search and indexing tool that uses categories to sort results. The categories presented are based on what is searched. Users can look into a category by using slashtags (search term/category name). Categories are librarian defined. A veteran social media search engine that started off as a blog search, and now offers simultaneous, real-time searching of blogs, Facebook, and Twitter. Million Short is a discovery engine that allows you to remove the top million (or top 100k, 10k, 1k, 100) sites from the results set.

Differences from Google Wolfram|Alpha is not actually a search engine, but a ready reference source in and of itself; it makes computations internally instead of searching the Web and returning links. Unlike Google, humans select the data sources, not robotic Web crawlers.
Bang searching allows for users to directly search hundreds of websites through one portal. DuckDuckGo also features an open source version that can be customized to user specifications. Google finds webcasts within its Video search but cannot search within the webcasts like TalkMiner. Google is similar to searching the header (citation, abstract) in a database; Talkminer is similar to searching the fulltext. Google stresses the links themselves, while Sensebot stresses text extracted from the sites. Sensebot is better at giving a user a quick summary of the key points, and less overwhelming than Googles millions of hits. Slashtags increase the accuracy of what kind of information on a topic is found. These delve into librarian defined categories such as board as News and as narrow as Harry Potter (when searching J.K. Rowling). Google offers a blog search, but not a specific Facebook or Twitter search. Results are indexed quickly, but not in real time. Million Short allows users to include or exclude specific sites from a search, as well as boost or block certain websites from search results; Google offers an Advanced Search, but no specific inclusion or exclusion of sites in search results.

DuckDuckGo duckduckgo.com

Talkminer talkminer.com

Sensebot sensebot.net

Blekko blekko.com

Audience Wolfram|Alpha can be used in any type of library and any type of education setting. In addition to answering ready reference inquiries, patrons can also be directed to the complex math features and the geological, health, engineering, and statistical data. As a direct competitor with Google, DuckDuckGo can be used by anyone for any search. However, users concerned with privacy will want to use DuckDuckGo. Students who want to watch relevant parts of lectures without having to watch the entire lectures. Instructors who would like to see how colleagues teach a concept. Students brainstorming ideas about a controversial or new subject. Any patron who would like a quick digest, news analysis, or intro to a topic. Blekko will appeal to anyone who wants organized searching. Breaking information down into topics allow users to determine whether or not the result will be relevant to their needs.
Any patron who wants real-time social media results on a breaking news story or research topic. Librarians and patrons alike can use this tool to monitor their social media presence. Million Short offers a quick, easy form of deep web searching to anyone who may benefit from otherwise-buried search results. Genealogy/ ancestry enthusiasts have also identified Million Short as an excellent resource for their difficult- to-find research.

IceRocket icerocket.com

Million Short millionshort.com millionshortiton.com

The Web Beyond Google Part 2: More Innovative Search Tools and Their Implications for Reference Services
Emerging Technologies Summit, Mississippi State University, August 1, 2013

Authors: Lauren Dodd Hall, Assistant Systems Librarian, Fairchild Research Information Center William C. Friedman, Web Services Librarian, The University of Alabama Brett Spencer, Reference Librarian, The University of Alabama Abstract: In a poster for the 2010 MSU Emerging Technologies Summit, we examined search engines with features not found in Google. Need to do calculus? Try Wolfram|Alpha. Looking to search without being tracked? DuckDuckGo is gaining in popularity. Three years forward, we examine new trends in alternative search engines. Which tools have disappeared? What have the existing tools updated? After reassessing the previous engines and examining new ones, we have developed an updated Quick Guide that provides information on each search tool, such as the scope, currency, three useful features, problems and limitations, mobile-friendly versions, and likely audience. Our discussion will address questions such as: Do the search features in these alternatives have longevity? What is the future of free search tools? We plan to sort out which alternative search tools reference librarians should be experimenting with. The Web Beyond Google Part 1 Article: Spencer, Brett, Lauren B. Dodd, William C. Friedman, and Qiong Xu. "The Web Beyond Google: Innovative Search Tools and Their Implications for Reference Services." Internet Reference Services Quarterly 16, no. 1-2 (2011): 11-34. Based on our 2010 MSU Emerging Technologies Summit paper, this article reviews nine search engines: Silobreaker, Zuula, Bing, ChaCha, CompletePlanet, DuckDuckGo, Spezify, Wolfram|Alpha, and Wowd.