+ Answers.com Adds Content from Yahoo Answers
As noted in Briefs #1 today, Yahoo is starting to place material from Yahoo Answers on web results pages and elsewhere. Word from Answers.com this morning that they are also starting to include Yahoo Answers material where appropriate.

Answers.com users can view relevant questions and answers – both specific questions and topic-related categories – from Yahoo! Answers directly on Answers.com’s own pages. In addition, users can click directly to Yahoo! Answers to ask any question.

Caveat emptor! Look for content from Yahoo Answers results in the right rail. For example:
+ A search for Akron, OH, has a discussion of who will win the Akron football game tomorrow? When is tomorrow?
+ A result for anthrax, the disease, also brings back Yahoo Answers for and about the band.
+ A search for Wal-Mart stores (with company info, history) provides numerous Yahoo Answers not relating directly to the topic but more about specific products.
+ A search for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation provides Yahoo Answers results that have no citations (that’s something that make Answers.com so useful, quality resources) including some very negative comments about Mrs. Gates and the her family.
UPDATE: It appears that the Yahoo Answer module for this search has been removed as of 11/21/2006.
+ A Result for George Bush, a biblical scholar who lived from 1796-1859, has Yahoo Answers about the current president of the United States.

In other Answers.com news, look for new content from the following sources. In some cases, we found it a challenge to find out who has provided the actual content that Answers.com is just added. New on Answers.com:

+ American Foreign Policy – Concepts, themes, large ideas, significant movements, and distinctive policies in the history of American foreign relations (e.g., African Americans, Department of Defense…)
+ Encyclopedia of Intelligence – A modern encyclopedia offering immediate value by emphasizing matters of espionage, intelligence, and security most frequently in the news (e.g., Al-Qaeda (Also Known as Al-Qaida), Genetic Technology, Remote Sensing…)
+ Encyclopedia of American History – More than 4000 facts, events, trends, and policies of American history (e.g., Abraham Lincoln Brigade, Deaf in America, Wal-Mart…)
+ People’s Chronology – A Year-by-Year Record of Human Events from Prehistory to the Present. (e.g., Antiquity, Prehistory, 1001…)
+ Cities of the United States – A one-stop source for all the vital information you need on 189 of America’s top cities (e.g., Albany, Washington, D.C., New York…)
+ Contemporary Fashion – Information on and assessment of fashion designers active during the period from 1945 to the present (e.g., Badgley Mischka, Gucci, Klein, Calvin…)
+ Recipes of the World – More than 700 recipes representing 57 countries (e.g., Almond Kisses, Deviled Eggs, Makubi…)
+ Foods of the World – Comprehensive look into the dietary lifestyles of many of the world’s people (e.g., Argentina, Greece, Mexico…)
Again, knowing the precise source (does Answers.com now have its own research and writing team) would be helpful.

+ Virtual Earth 3D International Bug fixed (via VE Blog)

3d mapping enthusiasts around the world can now install Virtual Earth 3d. Version 1.1 was released over the weekend which fixed a bug in certain international markets.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 20th, 2006 and is filed under Web Search. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.