14 DAY TRIAL // Most companies and experts agree that semantic search is the future, yet few have been able to get any real results. Many have tried, with varying degrees of success, most recently Wolfram Alpha, but the fact remains that computers, even with their ever-increasing power and ever-improving algorithms, still have big problems understanding human language. This is the issue that Semanti is trying to overcome, by taking a different approach and enlisting humans for help.
"Semanti is a unique blend of social search, personal search and better search powered by an easy-to-use method of specifying the exact meaning of your search terms," Bruce Johnson, CEO, Semanti Corp., said. "Features like MyWeb personalizes searches, Facebook Connect leverages social networks for more trusted searches, and the Semanti Suggest search functionality improves overall global search results. Combining these together helps users find more relevant and meaningful results based on sites they have visited in the past and found interesting, and sites recommended by their trusted friends and the whole Semanti community."
Most semantic searches use natural language, but Semanti, in fact, isn't even a search engine, but a separate Firefox add-on, which uses established search providers like Google, Yahoo! and Bing as a backend. The add-on has several tricks to make it easier for users to find the exact content they are looking for. A new search on any of the three search engines will first present the users with a drop-down list of the different definitions and meanings of the search term. After they choose the one they are interested in, all other definitions for the query will be omitted from the results.
Semanti also offers bookmarks, so users can save the sites that they are most likely to return to. Then, when a similar search is made, the pages that have been bookmarked show up on the top of the results. The add-on also has a social networking feature allowing users to connect with their Facebook friends. This enables Semanti to also use the bookmarks saved by their friends to generate the results, further increasing their relevance.
Semanti can be downloaded here.