Friday, December 17, 2004

Clustered Search Options from Vivísimo

Vivísimo is probably best known for its clustering search, which organizes search results into topical folders and subfolders called clusters. These clusters give researchers a quick overview of the types of information retrieved and help them focus on topics that are more on-point to their research. Although Vivísimo designs its products for its customers, it openly demonstrates its products on public information sources.

Vivísimo's consumer search site is Clusty. In addition to its default Web+ search, Clusty has tabs for searching News, Images, Shopping, Encyclopedia, Gossip, eBay, Blogs, or Slashdot, and allows the researcher to create customized tabs. The Advanced search allows the researcher to choose which search engines will be used for each search. Clusty's search results are clustered using the Vivísimo clustering engine. For a more detailed description, see the press release or take the Clusty Tour by clicking on the Tour link below the Clusty search box.

Vivísimo also has several demos of its clustering search that can be helpful to legal researchers. For example, using the search box and drop-down menu on the Vivísimo home page, you can run clustered searches of FirstGov or eBay, among others. Click on the Demos button at the top of a Vivísimo page to see a list of specialized demo searches. Recent demos have included clustered searches of the 9/11 Commission Report, the U.S. government's 2005 budget, and the CIA's report on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

Thanks to WisBlawg and Search Engine Watch for the links.


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