Beyond the Triumverate: Alternative Search Options Revisited

Paula J. Hane, NewsBreaks editor for Information Today, reminds us to look beyond The Big 3: Google, Yahoo!, and Bing.

In this contribution, she encourages information seekers to learn about other tools.

For instance, she profiles LeapFish, which combines traditional search engine features along with real-time content (e.g., Digg, Twitter, Facebook, etc.). See LeapFish’s How it Works page for a video demo.

She also mentions Hakia, the meaning-based or semantic search engines, which matches keywords to concepts. Hakia, too, has taken great strides to include real-time results from the likes of microblogs, blogs, credible news sources, etc. Be sure to check out Hakia’s other initiative NoBrandSearch. Its purpose: to allow searchers to assess which search engines results are actually better, and it compares search results from the big players (all the while stripping out their unique bells and whistles to hone in on results sets).

Last, Hane redirects us to a good, old-fashioned directory: ipl2. This tool is a result of the merger of Internet Public Library and Librarian’s Index to the Internet. It’s mantra / slogan is “Information You Can Trust”. ipl2 offers a search box as well as browsable directories to their core competencies: For Teens, Magazines & Newspapers, Resources by Subject, etc.