I've trusted and used this search for years; will continue in the future.
Written: Nov 27 '03 (Updated Nov 27 '03)
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Looksmart is continually crawling all publicly available web sites to create a series of snapshots of the Web. They use the data we collect to create features and services that are integrated parts of the free Looksmart service:
Site Information: Traffic rankings, pictures of sites, links pointing to sites and more
Related Links: Sites that are similar to the one you are currently viewing
They are currently gathering in excess of one terabyte (1000 gigabytes) of information per day. Their crawling does not interfere with a server's normal activity. Looksmart has been gathering this information since early 1996, and they have continually increased the amount of information that they gather.
As a Looksmart user navigates to a web site or web page, the Looksmart service retrieves data about the page the user is requesting. They gather information from a number of sources, then organize it to be presented by the Looksmart Service, helping the user to be better informed about the site he/she is viewing.
The service lists who registered the domain name and when they registered it, giving their users an idea of who is behind the site they are viewing. By analyzing the data they receive from their updated snapshots of the Web, they can tell their users how their traffic ranks in comparison to other web sites and how many other sites link to that site. They can also derive a popularity rating from their user base and share that rating with their community of users.
Their goal for the "Site Stats" feature of Looksmart was to help their users navigate the Web more efficiently by giving them all the information they need to make informed decisions about the sites they visit.
Whenever a Looksmart user visits a web page, the Looksmart service retrieves information from the Looksmart servers to suggest other pages that might be of interest to the user.
To find Related Links, they use several techniques, including:
The usage paths of the collective Looksmart community- this is the most important source of their information, since these paths show them which web sites their users believe are important and interesting.
Clustering - the hundreds of millions of links on the Web can be used to find clusters of sites that are similar and relevant to one another. They mine that data by using custom databases to find and identify those clusters.
Users' suggestions - they consider their users' suggestions to augment their Related Links recommendations.
Donation of the Information to the Internet Archive
As a service to future historians, scholars, and other interested parties, Looksmart Internet donates a copy of each crawl of the Web to the Internet Archive, a (501(c)3) nonprofit organization committed to the long-term preservation and maintenance of a growing collection of data about the Web. At Looksmart, they believe that saving and preserving their early digital heritage is important today and essential for future generations. They also believe that a public charity is the best kind of organization for preserving this global asset.
Randy Gullickson - Executive International Webmaster
11.27.2003
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Member: Randy Gullickson
Location: Canoga Park, California
Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me: 10-2, 10-8, wall-2-wall, tree-top-tall, 3's I'm gone! HOORAY 4 type "A"'s
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