CNN's Technology section picked up the AP story about Vivisimo and Grokker, etc., and Vivisimo plainly states: CNN Overload!
please bear with us...
Hopefully, enough will bookmark the link and return when it's not so heavily impacted. I tried it out multiple times yesterday and found it a useful searching tool; i.e., I got what I wanted with the least amount of revised search strings. I liked the layout of the returns; however, until one works with something repeatedly and comparitively, it's hard to determine whether it'll win out in the end.
I remember when I first started online and Yahoo was "it." I found it very awkward and cumbersome and fairly irrelevant or too exclusive to too few sites. I read a review on Web Ferret (it utilized multiple search engines) and tried that out - ended up paying for it; however, as time went on the sheer overwhelming number of hits that were completely irrelevant made it less and less useful (this was when meta tags were just taking off and many porn sites included many irrelevant words). I moved over to Copernicus, which seemed "ok," but Google was picking up the buzz. I loved Google!
However, the net has continued to grow at an exponential rate, cheats and scams are diluting relevcancy, and I'm willing to switch over and test out something that's where Google was long ago.
When I'm researching a topic, I need an array of different perspectives on the same keywords, all highly relevant. I'm willing to eventually trek through as many sites as needed until the information gels into something that I can extrapolate my answer(s).
When I went back to college in the 80s, I found that I learned best by reading several authoritative works on a subject--far better than attending classes. I would periodically drop by my classes, buy the class notes through the student union, and keep slogging away through more and more books. When it came time to write my paper(s) or take my exams, I was fully prepared.
I use the net similarly now, especially for "quick" topics or a quick review of material that I once knew well. I still buy books for comprehensive information that can be perused and pondered; however, the web has certainly become a major tool in learning.
Many who come in here are primarily concerned with
PR or where their sites come up. I care about valid data and want relevant sites, not just ones that have been optimized ohsocarefully, but are pale imitations of the content that I want.