Search Engine Reviews: HotLinks And Ask Jeeves
The more search engines you have in your repertoire, the more likely you'll be to choose the best engine for your search. HotLinks and Ask Jeeves are both useful search engines, but because they're based on different concepts, they are most effective for different types of searches.
HotLinks - A SEARCH ENGINE BASED ON BOOKMARKS
The idea behind HotLinks is a simple one - build a search engine based on people's bookmarks (Netscape Navigator) or favorites (Internet Explorer). I have to admit I was skeptical about this concept, mainly because of the sorry state of my own bookmarks.
(Although I have a lot of bookmarks and they're essential to the way I use the Internet, many are outdated, have incorrect addresses or names, or are placed in questionable categories. There are quite a few that I haven't visited in years. I keep telling myself that one of these days I'm going to bring all my bookmarks up-to-date and organize them better - when I have the time . . .)
I'm pleased to report that my doubts about HotLinks have proved to be largely unwarranted. I've found most of the search results to be timely and relevant. Even if a bookmark has been placed in an inappropriate category or has not been categorized at all, it will be retrieved in a search if a word in the title matches a search word.
Best Uses: HotLinks works best for finding first-rate sites about general subjects. It is usually not as successful in finding sites about specific aspects of a subject because it searches only bookmark category and folder names, and the titles of web pages rather than complete pages. However, if your subject is very popular (e.g. dogs), your search concept can be a bit more specific (e.g. dog training).
Search Results: Each item resulting from a search includes the bookmark category and folder, alias of the person who contributed it, and the web page title.
If you select the contributor's alias, you'll be presented with a complete list of the person's bookmarks and in many cases his or her name. Often looking at this information is worthwhile because the individual's bookmarks may include several categories about different facets of your subject or related subjects. Most of the contributors have made their e-mail addresses available so you can contact people if you think they may be knowledgeable about your field of interest.
But be aware - you can get engrossed in pondering people's bookmarks and speculating about what they do, where they live, how old they are, what their personalities are like, etc. Keep a clock nearby.
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