Hakia Launches Semantic Highlighter and Scoop Button
Today
hakia added a hakia highlighter to their “meaning-based” search engine, producing a highlighted sentence
inside a search result. The bigger announcement is tomorrow, when hakia will launch a scoop button - a browser plug-in that not only highlights text, but when you click on a result page it scrolls automatically to the highlighted passage, enables you to save data to your computer, and more customization features that we'll discuss below.
Both of these new tools allow for faster more relevant result selection and additional utility for users.
hakia highlighter
The hakia highlighter upgrade addresses what Melek Pulatkonak, COO of hakia, termed ‚ÄúClick-Thru-Itis‚Ä? - or clicking through a link to determine relevance. Traditional search engines often force users to click links excessively in order to determine (based on limited information) which result is relevant. The hakia highlighter alleviates the need for excessive clicks by displaying meaning-based, uninterrupted sentences in the search result. Determining relevance and providing an educated selection of URLs is improved because of the added content and context provided by these sentences. Broken keywords and phrases simply do not provide enough information.
Let‚Äôs examine what typically happens when we do a search on Google. For the search query: ‚ÄúWhat does it mean to cross the Rubicon?‚Ä? the Google results are almost always more difficult to "filter" because of fragmented meaning. The real problem is in the disparity between relative results and how people are forced into making decisions based on this broken information. The Google results to this query vary from the rule of habeas corpus to a metaphysical discourse, but the bold keywords do not signal this wide disparity.
Note: fragmented keywords and phrases
Invariably, selecting from broken sentences will lead to unwanted visits to those URLs. Let’s now look at what is revealed with the same search on hakia. The highlighted sentences provide more information and relevance for deciding. Results that display no sentences on hakia are ruled out all together and more obvious examples become readily apparent. In this example, extra clicks aren't necessary in order to significantly "narrow" a subject.
Note: I followed the highlighted sentences as much as I
did the links
The hakia highlighter examples demonstrate the engine's ability to "think" semantically and display the process in a way that narrows selection options.
Scoop Bar
The scoop bar is a browser plugin that lets users apply semantic results in a unique way. Currently it is only available on Windows, but Mac support is coming.
When installed, clicking the scoop browser icon reveals a pull-down with several options. The home option refers back to hakia, where a search for "What is the specific gravity of lead?" renders a highlighted result as before; but clicking on a desired result reveals the page AND scrolls the page to the highlighted passage as below.
Note: The scroll bar is about 1/3 down a very long page
on ballistics
The button in front of the highlighted passage has several functions. Clicking the pull-down arrow allows the user to highlight desired text and save the link and text to a custom folder. Alternatively, clicking the "scoop and save" icon saves the link and text to a default folder or file.
Note: Additional highlighted paragraph and saving to a
created folder
Additional buttons and functions allow for more customization and navigation. The options button at top center of the tool bar brings up the scoop and save functions, while the "my results" pull-down lists saved results and navigates to them as illustrated below.
My result function and destination folder
Perhaps a real world example is in order. If I were doing a post on ballistics, Hakia (even in beta) has provided me with faster and more relevant results, a method for saving/customizing results, and a point for the study of all the data gleaned. A user could perform the same function in any browser, but it is obvious that time and function would be lost comparatively.
Conclusion
Hakia is progressing to the point of expressing results in true "natural language" terms. Make no mistake, the comparative results of Google, Yahoo and hakia are not conclusively differentiated yet, but the progress of hakia is fairly clear in these examples. The way the "scoop" function directs the user to relevant links and then "scrolls" to the pertinent passage is evidence of the semantic engine at work locating relevant data. The implications of this are powerful and exciting for hakia and the rest of us. There is a long road ahead for hakia, but predicting outcomes is so often a function of watching the little things.
Comments
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Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Hakia folks read my blog regularly as I commented on their search engine, features, and their people few times before.
Published: July 15th 07. We had this feature in our alpha for over a year.
Read here: http://www.conceptualist.com/?p=301
"So back to our example, with Assista, typing the subject ‚ÄúCystic Fibrosis‚Ä? will give you the following questions and more. Each question is then linked back to the page/s where the question was originally found, question highlighted, page anchored, letting you learn from the discussions of others in relation to the question."
See screenshot: http://www.conceptualist.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/assista4.jpg
@Sahar Sarid: so you mean they did this toolbar in 10 days? Awesome!
The Scoop Bar looks interesting, but it is not new. I know several other search tools that do the same, but with Google search results!
Indeed, the highlighter is an excellent, quick, efficient and sure-fire way of determining relevance; but it's not new is it? It's featured in hakia search results ever since I started using hakia regularly several months ago...
Hakia seems to be a fantastic start up search engine but in terms of meaningful sentences NosyJoe.com seems to be mainly dealing, if not only, with that grammatical component of the content in a very interesting approach…
It appears that NosyJoe is extracting and clustering all the meaningful components from the content at its entry point and is somehow filtering out anything that carries out little to no meaning within a given content area, instead of highlighting the in-text sentences at the moment one searches for it. Basically the idea seems to be all about producing better search results at the end of the day by simply showing only meaningful sentences, much or less…
I thought this sounded great until I went to their home page tonight and found that the scoop bar is only available for IE, not Firefox or any other browser for Windows.
Thanks for the read and the comments folks! Maybe I should respond to each one:
@ Sahar - Thanks for the info about another engine. I am not sure that the examples you use are semantically derived sentences or that the utility I tested in my hakia scoop bar is anything like that of Assista. If I could get an invtitation to test this innovation - then perhaps I would reach the same conclusion you have.
As it is - given that you have left more links to your site than I have in the whole hakia post - this Assista engine msut be absolutely fantastic.
@Vigilan - We had to have been friends in a past life. I love quick people. :)
@Jim - Thanks Jim, I know there are buttons for several of the other search entities, I do not see how any of them could work out a semantic key to apply to an algorithmic/keyword result from Google - reverse the process and then reapply it for a user - why would they do that?
@Katie - I believe you are correct as I have noticed snippets of this feature myself. I believe the release is a more complete and functional level of highlighting - I will ask Riza and Melek if this is the case, but it was presented to me as absolutely new and unique - I do not doubt them for a second.
@ W2i - To be honest I have to check out this Nosey Joe fellow. I am thinking of starting a search company myself and calling it oldslowphil - I will find anything for you based on any criteria if you come to my site. Just kidding :) I went to NosyJoe and took note that it is in private beta. Perhaps I should test it if you will invite me?
@ Dave - Thanks Dave and you are quite right - I should have mentioned that also and saved you some time. This is fairly common for startups and especially with upgrades etc. Still, I am sorry I did not save you the time - really.
Phil: I mean that web pages highlighting AND automated positioning is not new. I know a tool that works very well with Google key words.
I have just tried the Scoopbar, it doesn't seem to work with IE7 ???
Jim, I thought that was what you were talking about and did not intend to sound inflammatory at all.
As far as IE7 I know that I am using IE6 (I know I am lazy) and the scoop bar inti tally conflicted with my pop-up settings. After "allowing" a few times IE 6 has apparently decided to stop bugging me.
If you mail hakia's webmaster@hakia.com I am sure he will help and I will ask Riza or Melek the correct path for resolving these issues. This is a good point - that is trouble issues with these things.
Let me know if I can help in any way.
@Jim - works for me. You may want to file a bug report by shooting an email to scoopbar@hakia.com - please include information about the environment you're working on, including OS etc...
@Phil Butler: Thanks Phil I didn't have seen your message.