Internet resources: New search engine reveals just the facts

A new service, Swingly, is now in the Web, according to Search Engine Land. Swingly, operating for the moment in beta version, answers to correctly made questions.

Swingly performs best when you search for facts — like Who, What, and When. It seems to do okay with some Where questions, but not with others. You wouldn’t ask Swingly for opinion-based questions, like “What’s the best steakhouse in Seattle?” But, a question like “What was the first video on MTV?” is right up Swingly’s alley. But “Where” questions can be hit-and-miss. The ambiguity of language means that Swingly struggles if you ask something that has multiple correct answers, like “Where do the Seattle Mariners play?”

One of the differences of Swingly from similar services is that this search engine is highly dependent on computer algorithms. According to Swingly company head, the project is being worked out by just a few persons. Users’ participation is limited to adding questions to the database and ability to mark a “good” and a “bad” answer.