Wednesday, 14. May 2008
Powerset Make Public Semantic Wikipedia Search Tool
Web start-up
Powerset has recently unveiled tools for searching that allow
Wikipedia users to employ "conversational phrasing" techniques instead of keywords. The system manages to understand simple questions like “Who is” or “What is,” but when moving to more complicated questions like asking it where one can find a species of plants or how one can make a simple device, it fails.
Instead of throwing up a batch of isolated links that require further research, as often happens with keyword searches, Powerset claims to offer a means of getting detailed answers more efficiently. When surfers click on a search result they can summarize long pages of content, helping them to pinpoint key information quickly, according to the company.
“Instead of just showing you a list of blue links, Powerset gives you more accurate search results, often answering questions directly, and aggregates information from across multiple articles. Finally, instead of leaving you at the search page, Powerset's technology follows you into enhanced Wikipedia articles, giving you a better way to digest and navigate content quickly,” explains the
Powerset blog.
Powerset eventually plans to make money selling advertising alongside its search services. But for now, the 60-employee company consists almost entirely of computer scientists and linguists. It has no advertising staff and only a handful of marketing and support staff.
Related Links
http://blog.powerset.com/2008/5/12/ready-powerset-go