[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #274: Semantic search gets bigger

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OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4Cast #274: Semantic search gets bigger
March 21st, 2012

<http://www.oplin.org/4cast/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/google-search.png>You 
may have seen some recent news articles 
<http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052702304459804577281842851136290-lMyQjAxMTAyMDEwNDExNDQyWj.html> 
about Google's plans to make their search more "semantic." What exactly 
does that mean? Well, people tend to use Internet search tools in two 
different ways: either to find their way to a particular document on the 
web, or to find the answer to a particular question. The same thing 
happens at the reference desk of a library, where you can have simple 
directional questions ("where's the restroom?") or more complex requests 
for information ("how many hog farms are in Iowa?"). If a user is 
looking for the answer to a particular question, the search tool is much 
more effective if it can understand the semantics of the question - the 
contextual meaning of the user's search terms - instead of just handling 
the words as individual keywords. But until recently, computer software 
hasn't been very good at that.

    * Google Search will soon 'answer questions', instead of just
      hunting words - a shift which makes it more like Microsoft's Bing
      <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2115273/Google-Semantic-search-answer-questions-shift-makes-like-Bing.html>
      (Daily Mail/Rob Waugh) "The move echoes what Microsoft has done
      with its Bing search engine. Bing is the second most-popular
      search engine in the U.S. - and built to deliver answers to
      questions. 'People today expect more than 10 blue links on a
      page,' says Microsoft."
    * Google knowledge graph could change search forever
      <http://mashable.com/2012/02/13/google-knowledge-graph-change-search/>
      (Mashable/Lance Ulanoff) "The transition from a word-based index
      to this knowledge graph is a fundamental shift that will radically
      increase power and complexity. [Google search engineer Amit]
      Singhal explained that the word index is essentially like the
      index you find at the back of a book: 'A knowledge base is huge
      compared to the word index and far more refined or advanced.'"
    * Google semantic search: bad for SEO, good for you
      <http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_semantic_search_bad_for_seo_good_for_you.php>
      (ReadWriteWeb/Jon Mitchell) "It's not just the interpretation of
      queries that will improve; the quality of results will be better
      since they can't be gamed with keywords. This will change Google's
      ad business profoundly, but that change is inevitable. If Google
      doesn't become the most relevant, intelligent search assistant,
      Apple's Siri will
      <http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_still_rules_search_but_siri_is_coming.php>."
    * Google semantic search - eyeing Siri and other rivals?
      <http://www.knowyourmobile.in/news/1284290/google_semantic_search_eyeing_siri_and_other_rivals.html>
      (Know Your Mobile/Radnyee Chunodkar) "While in an interview with
      the WSJ
      <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303863404577281822057679682.html>,
      Google search executive Amit Singhal stated: 'When we can deliver
      small nuggets of information, that system is far more suited to
      mobile phones and searching with voice'. This evidently gives a
      cue that Google is eyeing to topple rival Siri. Apple's
      intelligent personal assistant and knowledge navigator, Siri uses
      a natural language user interface by putting into action the
      semantic technology."

*/Entities fact:/*

Google has prepared for this move by collecting 
<https://plus.google.com/115744399689614835150/posts/3vLRVL7C4QS> a huge 
database of 200 million related "entities": people, places, and products.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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