http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/23/technology/internet/23search.html?_r=1&ref=technology
It continually surprises me how many websites are on the internet. I used to think I was pretty savvy with using the internet, using search engines and just browsing, but I was very wrong. During the summer of 2008, Google added its one trillionth website to its search. this seems like an enormous number (and it is) but it is still nothing compared to how many sites are out there. There is a large community of web pages out there that are "invisible" to search engines, even the most popular like Google.
According to this article, these hidden pages include financial information, shopping catalogs, flight schedules, medical research and all kinds of other material stored in databases that are untapped. What these search engines are now trying to do is figure out a way to successfully add these pages as part of searches and have links that will guide people to these unseen sources. As with many new impliments, they are coming up with new technologies that will do just this. It will most likely change and reshape the way companies do business online.
In the article it explains that, "Search engines rely on programs known as crawlers (or spiders) that gather information by following the trails of hyperlinks that tie the Web together. While that approach works well for the pages that make up the surface Web, these programs have a harder time penetrating databases that are set up to respond to typed queries." The new technology will match what someone searches with relevant databases, and then the searcher can see an overview of their search from multiple sources.
Whenever you think that the internet has reached its potential, something new always pops up. I dont know one person who does not use google regularly, and it amazes me how progressive it can be. This new technology will especially make business easier because of the doors it will open, but it will also make searching more relevant, reliable, and easy.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I wish the article had given us a time frame for when they think developers will have perfected this new technology. It sounds like it will have the potential to radically change the way we search for information.
ReplyDelete