We are currently struggling to cope with the rapid deployment of new search technologies as though nothing like this has happened before. I get a sense of déjà vu because something quite similar started to take place in 1978 with the arrival of search software on mini-computers. To be sure it took some time for… Continue reading 1978 and the first search revolution
Category: Feature Article
Academia and the Enterprise – Steve Zimmerman
Academia and the Enterprise It is an honour to be asked by a highly respected contributor to the enterprise search community to share my journey from academia into the enterprise. Admittedly, it has been an unusual journey, so perhaps it’s best to say a bit about where things are at the exact moment before… Continue reading Academia and the Enterprise – Steve Zimmerman
Relevance under uncertainty – the commercial realities of IR development
Relevance Under Uncertainty – How Loop54 does software engineering to advance relevance Loop54 (on the market under the name FactFinder Infinity) is a technology that integrates with e-commerce stores and determines based on visitor interactions, in real time, which the most relevant products are for each individual user at every moment. It attempts to perform… Continue reading Relevance under uncertainty – the commercial realities of IR development
Understanding Search Engines – Dirk Lewandowski
It is remarkable that this book is unique in its coverage of the development of the technology, business and impact of web search. The web search engines play such an important role in our lives and our business activities that we take them for granted. It’s not just a lack of books but a lack… Continue reading Understanding Search Engines – Dirk Lewandowski
An interview with William Wang – KSJ Award Winner 2022
I asked William Wang, who at ECIR 2023 was presented with the Karen Spark Jones Award for 2022, if he could respond to a series of questions about his background and career. I am most grateful to William for the care he put into his replies. What were your aspirations at high school? I have… Continue reading An interview with William Wang – KSJ Award Winner 2022
ChatGPT take on Academia and Enterprise
The following is the version authored by ChatGPT of Steven Zimmerman’s article titled ‘Academia and the Enterprise‘. This version is notably shorter than the original article, and the facts that remain are all correct. However, ChatGPT has removed many anecdotes, including the mention of SkyNet (should we be concerned). Which version do you prefer? Academia… Continue reading ChatGPT take on Academia and Enterprise
Relevance management – tips, tricks, techniques and tools
When OpenSource Connections started the Haystack conference in 2018, our intention was to bring the search and relevance community together to share tips, tricks, techniques and tools. Although the talks that year weren’t recorded we swiftly realised that we could share them much more widely on video and we made sure to record all the… Continue reading Relevance management – tips, tricks, techniques and tools
The Limits of Batch Assessment of Retrieval Systems – Justin Zobell
I had the very good fortune to get to know Cyril Cleverdon towards the end of his distinguished career as Librarian at the Cranfield Institute of Technology and his invaluable work in creating and promoting the Cranfield Projects on information retrieval performance. These Projects formed the basis for the TREC events in the USA. At… Continue reading The Limits of Batch Assessment of Retrieval Systems – Justin Zobell
At last – an academic deep dive into an enterprise search case study
The opening presentation at Search Solutions 2021 in November given by Professor Katriina Byström (Oslo Metropolitan University) in which she summarised the outcomes of research she had carried out with Professor Marianne Lykke, Ann Bygholm and Louise Bak Søndergaard ( Department of Communications and Psychology at Aalborg University) on enterprise search use across an organisation.… Continue reading At last – an academic deep dive into an enterprise search case study
Brief Overview of the Portable Document Format (PDF) and Some Challenges for Text Extraction
(Note from the Editor PDF files are so ubiquitous in business and in academia that few people give any thought to the problems that arise in extracting text from a PDF to incorporate into a search index. Tim Allison is a consultant working at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and has been at the forefront… Continue reading Brief Overview of the Portable Document Format (PDF) and Some Challenges for Text Extraction