With Internet information propagating almost instantly, using a real-time search engine is smart and efficient. Scoopler and Collecta both bring back results on the latest trending topics and memes from the social media sites, blogs, video and news portals, as well as established results.
The next generation of search engine technology will bring recent and relevant results, and will be less likely to include websites or blogs that are dormant or haven’t been recently updated. Whereas most search engines today show results that are graded on a complex algorithm that judges validity, Scoopler and Collecta return the newest results with the clock showing how many seconds old the posts are.
What is Scoopler?
Scoopler was developed by two Computer Science graduates, AJ Asver and Dilan Jayawardane. Asver is a graduate of Oxford, and Jayawardane graduated from MIT. The company is based in San Francisco. Since the startup, they have been featured in articles on CNet, the Daily Telegraph, and several other reporting sites.
During the first two hours of the news breaking about Michael Jackson’s death, Scoopler was able to pick up reports from CNN, TMZ, blog posts, and Twitter comments almost as soon as they were posted. Scoopler’s results are sorted by time and popularity, so it does a more accurate reporting job than the current Twitter search. In addition, Twitter went over capacity, while Scoopler continued to pick up the news.
What is Collecta?
Collecta is a venture by a group of people with extensive experience in the online arena. Gerry Campbell, the CEO, has experience as the President of Search Technology for Reuters, the SVP of Search for AOL, and was in charge of commerce strategy for Alta Vista. Articles about this company have appeared in CNet, SFGate, and VentureBeat.
Collecta allows for more than one search at a time in the same window. Results are continuously updated until the user pauses the search. This allows for a constant stream of results from all over the web. A preview pane allows the person searching to look at the article, comment, or news report without leaving the window.
Recency and Relevancy
Simply because information is recent, doesn’t always mean it’s relevant or even accurate. Good judgment and media literacy skills must still be exercised by the consumer. Considering that much of what is posted on the Internet today is by individual users, and are often streams of ongoing conversations, gives importance to verifying the information found. Readers should question results using common sense.
For currently breaking events and news, a real time search engine brings the quickest and most efficient results. As time goes by, search engines will become even better and quicker. For now, Scoopler and Collecta are good choices for real-time results without excessive search engine advertising.
Suzanne Pitner - Suzanne Pitner is a teacher and published writer. A member of RWA and YARWA, she writes fiction as Suzanne Lilly.
Join the Conversation