Over time Google have improved search by deepening his understanding of
queries and web pages. The web isn’t merely words—it’s information about
things in the real world, and understanding the relationships between
real-world entities can help him deliver relevant information more
quickly. They have acquired Metaweb,
a company that maintains an open database of things in the world.
Working together they wanted to improve search and make the web richer and
more meaningful for everyone.
With efforts like rich
snippets and the search
answers feature, they are just beginning to apply their understanding of
the web to make search better. Type [barack obama birthday] in the
search box and see the answer right at the top of the page. Or search
for [events in San Jose] and see a list of specific events and dates. Google can offer this kind of experience because they understand facts about
real people and real events out in the world. But what about [colleges
on the west coast with tuition under $30,000] or [actors over 40 who
have won at least one oscar]? These are hard questions, and so they have
acquired Metaweb because they believe working together will be able to
provide better answers.
In addition to these ideas for search,they is also the possibilities for Freebase, Metaweb’s free and open
database of over 12 million things, including movies, books, TV shows,
celebrities, locations, companies and more. Google and Metaweb plan to
maintain Freebase as a free and open database for the world. Better yet,
they plan to contribute to and further develop Freebase and would be
delighted if other web companies use and contribute to the data. Google
believe that by improving Freebase, it will be a tremendous resource to
make the web richer for everyone. And to the extent the web becomes a
better place, this is good for webmasters and good for users.
