"Enterprise Information Portal" is the buzzphrase du jour for a wide range of search and retrieval products used by corporations and other medium to large size organizations to help "knowledge workers" find the information they need to do their jobs. Why would you, a web searcher, have any interest in EIPs? Because they often lead the way in developing new tools and techniques that gradually make their way into web search systems.
Vendors of EIP systems also provide a lot of information to potential customers, describing how their systems work, how they stack up against competing systems, and how they help knowledge workers do their job more effectively. You can learn a lot about searching and the fundamental technologies underpinning web search engines by taking a look at the world of Enterprise Information Portals.
The folks at Northern Light have put together another of their Special Editions focusing on EIP platforms. This isn't just a public service: Northern Light sells its own EIP solution, and they're trying to show how well they stack up against the competition. But they've provided tons of information on all of the major players and systems, including their own, creating an excellent one-stop resource for learning about and comparing EIP platforms.
SearchDay readers will likely get the most from two sections: Enterprise Information Portal (EIP) Industry
Introduction & News, and the Taxonomies & Content Organization section. The first helps you keep up to date with some of the cutting edge trends and developments that could easily find their way into web search technologies. The second section provides numerous resources that can help you understand how information systems of any kind -- including search engines and directories -- organize information to make it more easily found.
It's not light reading, but Northern Light's Special Edition on Enterprise Information Portals is likely to appeal to the inner search geek in just about all of us.
Northern Light Special Edition: Enterprise Information Portals
http://special.northernlight.com/portals/
Lycos Gets Cleaner, Faster
Lycos is rolling out welcome changes to its service today that should appeal to searchers who may have all but given up on the venerable engine. The changes have been made "to provide more relevant results above the fold, and to improve performance," according to Bryan Burdick, vice president of Portal Services for Terra Lycos. "We've gotten rid of a bunch of the clutter that was on the old search page," said Burdick.
Lycos Search
http://search.lycos.com/
Lycos Redeems Itself With Relaunch
http://searchenginewatch.com/sereport/current.html#lycos
"It's been some time since I would have suggested that anyone turn to Lycos to search for anything, but today's relaunch of Lycos is a surprising reversal of the service's decline," writes Danny Sullivan in today's Search Engine Report. "If you gave up on Lycos in the past, it is well worth revisiting the improved service."
Search Headlines
NOTE: Article links often change. In case of a bad link, use the publication's search facility, which most have, and search for the headline.
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