Gary Price from SearchEngineWatch points out a very handy blog meta search engine that has a lot more to offer than you might suspect at first use. Here’s some things you didn’t know about Clusty that’ll point out to you exactly how useful it is.
From [SearchEngineWatch] :
“Of course, Clusty’s well-known dynamic clustering is also part of their blog search tool. In some cases, the dynamic clustering can help you get you to a quality answer more quickly by providing what Clusty’s owner, Vivisimo, calls a selective ignorance. Plus, I’ve found that clustering can also be used as a knowledge discovery. In other words, helping the searcher quickly spot trends, names, etc. that would take hours and hours to do manually.
Another feature I like about Clusty Blog Search is that it allows me to see which database or databases the results are coming from. You’ll find the database name listed next to each url. It makes searching even more interesting for people who enjoy comparing results. Items available in multiple databases are grouped together.
Finally, here are a few other features you might find useful.
+ Directly above the dynamically generated clusters on the left side of the page, note the “cluster by” pull-down menu. If you select, “URL” you can quickly see where the results are coming from. Interesting and possibly another way of spotting blogs of possible interest.
+ At the top of results pages you’ll see a link labeled “Details.” Clicking this link allows you to find out how many results are coming from each engine. I do my best to see at least the first 100 from each engine.
+ Next to each title on a results page you’ll notice a few icons. Click the “venn diagram (three circles) icon” and you’ll see what cluster(s) contain the item. Items can be in more than one cluster. If you click the magnifying glass icon, you’ll open a live version of the result embedded directly into the results page. A real timesaver!
Using Clusty to search the blogosphere offers an easy way to quickly see results from most of the well-known databases while also allowing you to benefit of dynamic clustering. Worth a look!”
Clusty Blog Search is hardly tapping a bunch of unknown engines.
Several well-known blog engines serve as a source for the queries :
- Blogdigger
- Daypop
- Feedster
- Technorati
- Blogpulse
- IceRocket
Start using Clusty and search [here]
Read Gary’s entry on the [SearchEngineWatch] blog.