"Ask Search Engine"

History

Teoma has been the heart of Ask search technology since 2001. The power of the Teoma algorithm, now known as ExpertRank, makes Ask one of the world's most powerful and unique search engines. Two significant events helped develop Ask search technology. First, in 1999, Ask acquired Direct Hit, a Massachusetts company that had developed the world's first "click popularity" search technology, which was licensed to MSN and Lycos, among others. Second, in 2001, Ask acquired Teoma, a 10-person start-up out of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and its unique index and search relevancy technology. Teoma was the first, and is still the only, major search technology based upon the clustering concept of subject-specific popularity: ExpertRank. In fact, Teoma means "expert" in Gaelic.

How it works

Ask's ExpertRank algorithm provides relevant search results by identifying the most authoritative sites on the Web. With Ask search technology, it's not just about who's biggest: it's about who's best. Our ExpertRank algorithm goes beyond mere link popularity (which ranks pages based on the sheer volume of links pointing to a particular page) to determine popularity among pages considered to be experts on the topic of your search. This is known as subject-specific popularity. Identifying topics (also known as "clusters"), the experts on those topics, and the popularity of millions of pages amongst those experts -- at the exact moment your search query is conducted -- requires many additional calculations that other search engines do not perform. The result is world-class relevance that often offers a unique editorial flavor compared to other search engines.

REACTION:
Ask search engine is a world wide web known as ExpertRank, makes ask one of the world's most powerful and unique search engines. It provides relevant search result by identifying the most authoritative sites on the Web. Ask also the expert on those topic, and the popularity of millions of pages amongst those experts, requires many additional calculations that other search engines do not perform.