Question & Answer Search Engines : Ask Jeeves vs. Brain Boost
A new thread is just getting started over at Cre8asite Forums named How to get answers to questions.In that thread, moderator, Barry Weldford, asks what search engines are out there to give you answers to specific questions? He brings up the name of one such engine, named BrainBoost, which works well.
I then brought in Ask Jeeves, which is known for its question and answer’s ability. The famous example is searching on When was Michael Jordan drafted?, which gives you one of those “Smart Search” features that Ask is so well known for.
So I decided to compare the two. Whereas, Ask Jeeves served up that answer in a nice little box, BrainBoost gave the correct answer as well, but not in a nice little box. I went on to try out other questions:
Q: When was Michael Jordan drafted?
A: Ask Jeeves got it right, no box this time. But look at those nice “Related Topics” on the right.
BrainBoost got it right as well.
Q: Who was the 27th president of the united states?
A: Jeeves again with class.
BrainBoost right again.
Overall, Jeeves has a nicer interface and seems a lot quicker in returning results. Other engines will give you the results, but not boxed in like Jeeves. Does it matter, I believe so.
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Barry Schwartz is the Editor of Search Engine Roundtable and President of RustyBrick, Inc., a Web services firm specializing in customized online technology that helps companies decrease costs and increase sales.
