What Google Has To Fear From Wolfram

May 18, 2009

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An inventive new web search service has just become available to the public which just might give Google search a run for the money some day. WolframAlpha is a sort of automated mashup of Yahoo Answers and Google Search. Type in your question and Wolfram returns a detailed answer instead of a list of web sites where you might find an answer.

For example, we typed “Apple” in the WolframAlpha search box and instead of a list of web sites to visit, we were given Apple Computer’s latest stock price, market cap, revenue, number of employees, comparison to competitors, business sector, and link to the company’s web site. A promisingly interesting, but limited, result.

Wolfram also determined that there might be other uses of the word “Apple” that we might have been looking for and gave the option to further define the search as “ a food, a species specification, a spacecraft, or general material.” Clicking on “General material,” the service returned information regarding the density, pH, storage lifetime, optimal humidity, etc. of apples.

By contrast, Google search results are ”dumb.” If you search for “Apple” you get a list of web sites which mention the word “Apple.” However, you’ll have to sort through all the garbage and do all the research on your own. Wolfram succeeds in getting you started on your search, but, doesn’t do a very good job of getting you to your next step. For detailed information, you’ll still need to search Google, Wikipedia, or visit your local library.

With a little more work, Wolfram could easily become the initial launching point on the web for researchers and students everywhere. However, the current service is far from perfect. Aside from some basic information, Wolfram will NOT give you detailed history, links to other resources, or helpful tips or discussions. Additionally, the service does not seem to have indexed very many of the things that people actually search for. Wolfram currently has no way for you to search for subjective search terms (for example “What is the best hotel”) - you must pick a quantifiable term.

When searching for “Voice Over IP,” which is a hot topic in the Telecommunications industry, Wolfram Alpha returns the message: “WolframAlpha isn’t sure what to do with your input.” For now, the service is best if you enter a date, a town, stocks, a calculation, math formula, food, name, measurement, or musical note.

As limited as it currently is, Wolfram shows tremendous promise. If the service is able to expand the searchable database, increase content options, link to more information, and possibly allow users to augment information or suggest additional information, Wolfram could quickly become a very disruptive and useful resource in the search industry.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on Wolfram as it grows. While Google has nothing to worry about yet, with some additional work, we may very well be looking at the beginnings of the next great Internet service.

-iTodd

Written by Todd · Filed Under Internet