Google.com versus Topix.net, the new news search engine

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on March 31, 2004 at 6:23 PM

Thanks to Rafat Ali to report about Topix.net, a new and useful - but almost 100% American - news search engine. There are different categories like Journalism, Media or Blogs and the engine is now crawling 6,000 sources. And the same day, Rafat reports on Google's new services providing search results based on personal interests like "Personalized Web Search" and "Personal Web Alerts". Try both new services and compare them! I'll do it for sure.

About topix.net:

"Topix.net is now crawling 6,000 sources. An interesting breakdown of news sources by category:
24% Daily newspapers
19% AM & FM news radio stations
15% Weekly newspapers
15% B2B and consumer magazines
12% TV stations
9% College newspapers
5% Government websites
1% Weblogs

About the Google's new services:

The new services, currently in beta test, were unveiled by Google's Labs testing ground division. The first, Personalized Web Search, has users fill out a personal preference profile and then provides search results based on interests.

For instance, users signifying an interest in music and searching for the word "bass" will receive listings on the instrument as opposed to receiving an outdoor enthusiasts' results on the fish, Google said. The degree of personalization can also be adjusted on a sliding scale, allowing users to receive results that stick close to their preferences or are more general in nature.

The company also introduced Web Alerts, which work much like Google News Alerts. Users can indicate which topics interest them and receive regular e-mail updates with links to new Web pages and news stories related to the query.

The offerings come just days after Microsoft Corp. announced two of its upcoming search-related services while announcing its intention to be a major player in the market. The software giant said that it would be offering news and blog search services later this year.

But Google's new products are more focused on search personalization, which analysts and industry players have touted as the next battleground in the war to win users. In a review of Google's Personalized Search, SearchEngineWatch.com Editor Danny Sullivan noted that Google is the first provider to give users the ability to play around with personalized services.

More from the New York Times: Google is likely to launch its electronic mail service, Gmail.

It is presented as a long-running test. E-mail has become a crucial weapon in the competition to win the allegiance of Internet users, who often turn to one or two web sites as the foundation of their online activities, the NYT said.

Google will offer consumers better access to search their e-mail and could well upset the industry balance by offering free access to services that previously were only available by paying a monthly subscription fee, the newspaper said.

The company is planning a service to be supported by advertising that will permit its users to store very large amounts of mail at no cost. Google's entry into the e-mail business will sharpen the lines between major portals like Yahoo and MSN, the newspaper added.

More information about both GOOGLE services can be found at http://labs.google.com.

Source: John Battelle blog for Topix.net and InfoWorld about Google. See also rediff.com about the Google email service.

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