Ask.com is, as you know, a search engine. They’re not as popular as Google, but they’ve done some interesting things with search technology and helping people to refine their searches. Check out an example of Ask search results on a search for James J. Hill. Note especially the left-hand column, where one can narrow, expand, or find related info. Also the images, encyclopedia entries, news, and blog links along the right-hand column. 

Back at the end of February, I saw an article at Silicon Alley Insider describing how Ask was going to abandon their search technology, called Teoma, and just bolt the Ask logo over a Google search engine. It sounded crazy, so of course I wanted to post about it – but it fell off my radar.

Then the other day, an AP article appeared discussing recent cuts at Ask. This article said that Ask was abandoning its efforts to compete with Google, and was instead going to focus attention on helping married women in the southern and Midwestern states find information on recipes, hobbies, and health. Crazier still! I totally have to blog about this, I thought. But didn’t.

Then yesterday, I saw this well-reasoned and completely sensical article featuring quotes from an Ask.com spokesperson. Directly from the horse’s mouth: Ask is not getting rid of its Teoma search engine in favor of Google, and the idea that Ask is “going to become a women’s site is just plain wrong.” They are focusing on their core group of users, and they’re trying to understand how these users use their product, but that’s not crazy.

In fact, that seems like a pretty good strategy.

So through the awesome power of blog procrastination, what started off as a “WTF?” post turned into a little note about how every business would probably benefit by following Ask’s lead and paying closer attention to their core customers.

Who are your core customers? Are you paying attention to them?

A recent comment on this blog post brought an issue that’s been percolating to the forefront of my mind: Can you trust information that you find online?

The short answer is “kind of.” Here’s the longer answer.

[More]

Here at the Hill Library we subscribe to hundreds and hundreds of highly specialized industry trade journals. There are few better tools for learning more about a specific industry.

Every time we get a new issue of one of these trade journals, we browse through it, looking for so-called special issues. A special issue can be a state of the industry report, a trend analysis, a buyer’s guide, a top company listing... Basically any kind of special report.

We keep track of these special reports in the Special Issues Index. This tool can help folks here at the library get access to our trade journal collection. But what if you’re not here in St. Paul?

There is a document delivery option (free for HillSearch members), but we’ve also gone through and looked for online editions of these reports at trade journal Web sites. If they exist, we’ve linked to them.

In addition, we regularly scour the Web for free special reports from government and trade sources. These are labeled in the Special Issues Index as “Online Only.” We just dumped a couple dozen new Online Only reports into the Index, including:

• Life Insurance Industry 2008 Outlook
  
• The “Average” 62-Year Old Boomer
  
• Effects of Gasoline Prices on Driving Behavior and Vehicle Markets 
  
• Pet Ownership Statistics
  
• American Wind Energy Association 2007 Market Report
  
• Geographic Trends Among Same-Sex Couples
  
• Future Trends in Animal Agriculture
  
• What’s Hot & What’s Not: Chef Survey
  
• Networked Nation: Broadband in America 2007
  

As you can see, these reports cover numerous industries and topics. The Special Issues Index is a great free tool for doing all manner of market research, industry research, and customer research. Search the Index by broad industry heading, then dig into the results.

(HillSearch members: Find the Special Issues Index on the Custom Search page once you’ve logged into your account.)

If you offer services to small businesses, as we do here at the Hill Library, you probably know that the SBA is a great collector of information regarding this group of organizations. And you’ve probably already seen this full listing of 2007 SBA research reports on small business. Using these reports, our library can get a pretty good idea of the issues facing small business in America today, which can help us to better serve these clients.

Is there an organization that collects information about your clients, and can help you to get to know them better? I’d bet so. And I’d further bet that that organization is most likely either a governmental body or an industry association.

The Gateway to Associations is a useful tool for finding industry associations. From this page, scroll down and keyword search for the industry you serve. If you can find an association for that industry (and I bet you will), visit that association’s site and look for links to research, publications, or press releases.

To find a governmental office dealing with your industry of interest, try searching by industry heading in Google’s U.S. Government Search; or dig through Yahoo’s government agency or department directories; or browse this federal government agency index.

Here are some examples of industries and the .gov sites that track them:
For statistics on the construction industry, check out HUD
For research on the telecommunications industry, visit the FCC
For information on the banking industry, investigate the FDIC
 
In many cases the government or a trade association is doing a big portion of your customer research for you. Finding that source - that collector of information - is the key.

If you’re into free business research and have an Internet connection, you’re probably a fan of the Census Bureau. You know we are.

This, then, is happy news: The survey for the 2007 Economic Census went out a couple of weeks ago. Peruse this press release to find out more about the survey, which tracks U.S. employer businesses and is conducted every five years.

This same release also offers an excellent introduction to the vast amount of information you can find using Economic Census data.

Let the waiting – for forms to be returned (due Feb. 12) and results to be published (one to two years!) – begin.

Forever dedicated to making your life easier, Lifehacker offers up the Top 10 Obscure Google Search Tips. Learn how to use Google to:

10. Get the local time anywhere
9. Track flight status
8. Convert currency, metrics, bytes, and more
7. Compare items with "better than" and find similar items with "reminds me of"
6. Use Google as a free proxy
5. Remove affiliate links from product searches
4. Find related terms and documents
3. Find music and comic books
2. ID people, objects, and foreign language words and phrases with Google Image Search
1. Make Google recognize faces

Visit the site for an explanation of each of these search tips, and don’t miss the additional tips left by readers in the comments section.

[via Phil Bradley – thanks!]

A Technology Review interview of Google’s Director of Research Peter Norvig has set off a flurry of speculation about how Google gets the results it does.

In this interview, Norvig discusses consultants that Google hires to review and rate search results. The question left dangling is whether or not the ratings and suggestions of these reviewers have a bearing on the specific search results that they rate.

It’s a question of whether Google’s algorithm is purely mathematical or if results are at least partially determined by people (as they are in directory sites like Yahoo).

To learn more, read this great post at the New York Times and this one from Read Write Web.

Back in September, Allen pointed us to the Email Pattern Wiki, which helps determine how businesses set up email addresses for their employees.

Another wiki, Cogmaps, offers potential help in determining company “org charts.” Use it to map out who reports to whom at your favorite B2B prospect or potential partner.

Here at the Hill Library, we love the Census Bureau. It’s simply the best source to start with when conducting just about any kind of business research. Plus, it’s free. The Census Bureau counts almost every person in the U.S. and keeps statistics on virtually every industry.

Sometimes, though, when we send researchers to the Economic Census site for industry research, they come back all crestfallen because that actual data comes from 2002.

“2002,” they say incredulously, “that’s, like, totally ancient.”

Well, here’s a day-brightener for those gloomy searchers. The Census Bureau puts out much more current research on specific industry sectors, at sites like this one for the Service Industry.

Currently, one can find 2006 reports on these service industries:

• Information Industry (any NAICS code starting with “51…”)
• Health Care Industry (NAICS code starting “62…”)
• Securities and Investment Industries (NAICS “52…”)
  

…along with some 2007 quarterly updates, more 2006 service industry reports coming soon, and lots of 2005 reports now available.

If you’re instead looking for retail sector industry statistics (including food and accommodations), check out:
Annual Retail Trade Survey, which includes 2005 data.

Or if you’re researching the manufacturing sector, try:
Manufacturing Current Industrial Reports, with many 2006 reports along with selected 2007 quarterly updates.  

The Census Bureau is a powerful industry research resource, if you know where to look. Start with these sites – we think you’ll heart them.

p.s. You can find these links along with more free industry research sites on the BizToolkit, by selecting Industry Research from the drop-down menu.

The Web is positively churning these days with end of the year lists, touting the best and the brightest of 2007. We’ll bring you word of the big lists throughout December here on the Hill Library blog, but what can you do with them?

You can use these 2007 lists to make a guess about what 2008 will be like – because what’s leading edge today is commonplace tomorrow.

So when Oxford University Press lists top words of the year you might assume that these highlight new ideas working their way into our everyday vocabulary.

When Yahoo lists 2007 search trends and Google announces fastest growing search terms, you can discover the types of topics holding our collective attention.

The things that spark our interest today just might charge our credit cards tomorrow. Can you use these lists to plan strategically?

Stay tuned for more end-of-year lists!