MetaCrawler
Encyclopedia
MetaCrawler is a metasearch engine
that blends the top web search results from Google
, Yahoo!
, Bing (formerly Live Search), Ask.com
, About.com
, MIVA, LookSmart
and other popular search engines. MetaCrawler also provides users the option to search for images, video, news, yellow pages and white pages. MetaCrawler hit its stride in the late 90's when the verb "metacrawled" was used by talk show host Conan O'Brien on TRL. It used to provide the option to search for audio. MetaCrawler is a registered trademark of InfoSpace, Inc.
by then graduate student Erik Selberg
, Bobby Kalili, and Professor Oren Etzioni as Selberg's Ph.D. qualifying exam project. Originally, it was created in order to provide a reliable abstraction layer to early Web search engines such as WebCrawler
, Lycos
, and InfoSeek
in order to study semantic structure on the Web. However, it became clear that it was a useful service in its own right, and had a number of research challenges.
By early 1995, MetaCrawler was running on four DEC
AlphaStation
s and handling several hundred thousand queries per day. This was starting to create significant bandwidth load at UW, as well as appear on the radar of the search engines MetaCrawler was using. It became clear that MetaCrawler needed to have some kind of business model to pay for the queries it was forwarding to the primary search engines.
In the summer of 1995, NetBot
, Inc. was founded to commercialize MetaCrawler and three other UW technologies: Ahoy! The HomePage Finder, Occam, and ShopBot. Ahoy! and Occam never actually left UW. Unable to determine a reasonable business model, MetaCrawler was licensed to another Internet startup, Go2Net. NetBot then combined the core of MetaCrawler with ShopBot to create a meta-shopping site, Jango. NetBot was then purchased by Excite
, where Jango became part of the Excite Network Shopping Channel. Both Selberg and Etzioni returned to UW until 1999, when they joined Go2Net for a year, leaving just prior to Go2Net's acquisition by InfoSpace
, Inc. in 2000. InfoSpace now owns and operates the metasearch engines Dogpile
and WebCrawler
.
Go2net went public on the Nasdaq
in 1998 with its primary asset being MetaCrawler.com. MetaCrawler.com and Go2net were acquired by InfoSpace in 1999 for $4.2 billion.
Metasearch engine
A metasearch engine is a search tool that sends user requests to several other search engines and/or databases and aggregates the results into a single list or displays them according to their source. Metasearch engines enable users to enter search criteria once and access several search engines...
that blends the top web search results from Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
, Bing (formerly Live Search), Ask.com
Ask.com
Ask is a Q&A focused search engine founded in 1996 by Garrett Gruener and David Warthen in Berkeley, California. The original software was implemented by Gary Chevsky from his own design. Warthen, Chevsky, Justin Grant, and others built the early AskJeeves.com website around that core engine...
, About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
, MIVA, LookSmart
LookSmart
LookSmart is an online advertising company based in San Francisco. LookSmart provides search advertising products and services to text advertisers, as well as targeted pay-per-click search and contextual advertising via its Search Advertising Network...
and other popular search engines. MetaCrawler also provides users the option to search for images, video, news, yellow pages and white pages. MetaCrawler hit its stride in the late 90's when the verb "metacrawled" was used by talk show host Conan O'Brien on TRL. It used to provide the option to search for audio. MetaCrawler is a registered trademark of InfoSpace, Inc.
History
MetaCrawler was originally developed in 1994 at the University of WashingtonUniversity of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
by then graduate student Erik Selberg
Erik Selberg
Erik Selberg is an American software developer best known for the creation of MetaCrawler, one of the first Web meta-search engines. He is currently a Senior Manager at Amazon.com heading the Item Authority team. He was most recently a Senior Developer at Microsoft on the Live Search product team...
, Bobby Kalili, and Professor Oren Etzioni as Selberg's Ph.D. qualifying exam project. Originally, it was created in order to provide a reliable abstraction layer to early Web search engines such as WebCrawler
WebCrawler
WebCrawler is a metasearch engine that blends the top search results from Google, Yahoo!, Bing Search , Ask.com, About.com, MIVA, LookSmart and other popular search engines. WebCrawler also provides users the option to search for images, audio, video, news, yellow pages and white pages...
, Lycos
Lycos
Lycos, Inc. is a search engine and web portal established in 1994. Lycos also encompasses a network of email, webhosting, social networking, and entertainment websites.-Corporate history:...
, and InfoSeek
Infoseek
Infoseek was a popular search engine founded in 1994 by Steve Kirsch.Infoseek was originally operated by the Infoseek Corporation, headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. Infoseek was bought by The Walt Disney Company in 1998, and the technology was merged with that of the Disney-acquired Starwave...
in order to study semantic structure on the Web. However, it became clear that it was a useful service in its own right, and had a number of research challenges.
By early 1995, MetaCrawler was running on four DEC
Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation was a major American company in the computer industry and a leading vendor of computer systems, software and peripherals from the 1960s to the 1990s...
AlphaStation
AlphaStation
AlphaStation was the name given to a series of computer workstations, produced from 1994 onwards by Digital Equipment Corporation, and latterly by Compaq and HP. As the name suggests, the AlphaStations were based on the DEC Alpha 64-bit microprocessor...
s and handling several hundred thousand queries per day. This was starting to create significant bandwidth load at UW, as well as appear on the radar of the search engines MetaCrawler was using. It became clear that MetaCrawler needed to have some kind of business model to pay for the queries it was forwarding to the primary search engines.
In the summer of 1995, NetBot
Netbot
Netbot was the first commercial Internet price comparison service. Founded by University of Washington Computer Science professors Oren Etzioni and Daniel S. Weld the company was funded by ARCH Venture Partners, Alta Partners and the Madrona Venture Group....
, Inc. was founded to commercialize MetaCrawler and three other UW technologies: Ahoy! The HomePage Finder, Occam, and ShopBot. Ahoy! and Occam never actually left UW. Unable to determine a reasonable business model, MetaCrawler was licensed to another Internet startup, Go2Net. NetBot then combined the core of MetaCrawler with ShopBot to create a meta-shopping site, Jango. NetBot was then purchased by Excite
Excite
Excite is a collection of Internet sites and services owned by IAC Search & Media, which is a subsidiary of InterActive Corporation . Launched in 1994, it is an online service offering a variety of content, including an Internet portal, a search engine, a web-based email, instant messaging, stock...
, where Jango became part of the Excite Network Shopping Channel. Both Selberg and Etzioni returned to UW until 1999, when they joined Go2Net for a year, leaving just prior to Go2Net's acquisition by InfoSpace
InfoSpace
Infospace provides metasearch and private-label Internet search services for consumers and businesses.InfoSpace's flagship metasearch site is Dogpile; its other consumer brands are WebCrawler, Nation, DoGreatGood and MetaCrawler.-History:...
, Inc. in 2000. InfoSpace now owns and operates the metasearch engines Dogpile
Dogpile
Dogpile is a metasearch engine that fetches results from Google, Yahoo!, Bing, Ask.com, About.com and several other popular search engines, including those from audio and video content providers. It is a registered trademark of InfoSpace, Inc.- History :...
and WebCrawler
WebCrawler
WebCrawler is a metasearch engine that blends the top search results from Google, Yahoo!, Bing Search , Ask.com, About.com, MIVA, LookSmart and other popular search engines. WebCrawler also provides users the option to search for images, audio, video, news, yellow pages and white pages...
.
Go2net went public on the Nasdaq
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
in 1998 with its primary asset being MetaCrawler.com. MetaCrawler.com and Go2net were acquired by InfoSpace in 1999 for $4.2 billion.