Findfast: Innovative Content Site Search Engine With Artificial Intelligence.

Resumé:
Since the early days of the Internet scientists and designers are craving for a viewer friendly site content search method that is economically viable. This is now reality.

Findfast is an innovative program to manage content websites (catalogues, directories, archives) with large databases to be searched by viewers. Viewer friendly and extremely fast. Artificial intelligence ensures that a search never ends with NOT FOUND.

Database size has little influence on the time required to perform a search.
From the viewer's subjective point of view search is performed in zero time,
even if the Internet connection is slow.

The database can be searched by as many criteria as may be reasonable.
If no item matching all criteria exists Findfast reduces the number of search criteria automatically until successful search is possible.

The program accepts mixed input from keyboard, mouse clicks on images like
and clicks on maps.

Updating the database is an automated process.

Conventional methods are hypertext, full-text search, and a menu tree where the viewer moves up and down. They have specific weaknesses:

Full-text search often delivers irrelevant, sometimes absurd results.

Travelling in a menu tree with many levels strains the viewer's patience.

Hypertext links are biased by what editors believe to be important to viewers.

Too many hypertext links confuse the viewers.

As complementary methods they have their justification. In some cases, where customers are used to menu trees (for instance mail order catalogues) Findfast can complement menu tree search to assist customers who do not understand the menu tree structure and therefore cannot find what they look for.

Findfast can manage all types of content sites.
Examples:

¶ Spare part catalogues in the automobile industry.

¶ Accommodation directories.

¶ Trade association member lists with links to member websites.

¶ Real estate lists which are subject to daily changes.

¶ Literature archives.

¶ Customer info at websites that promote a large and diversified product range.

¶ Directories published by multinational concerns and government agencies to
       inform the press, prospective suppliers and/or the general public
       which department to contact for specific information.

Findfast "guesses" which keyword a viewer intends to enter.

When a viewer enters a word to search for a book titled "The First Settlers in North America" it can be found with the keywords FIRST, SETTLERS, NORTH, or AMERICA.

Only the initial three letters have to be entered. Findfast complements the rest. As soon as the viewer enters SET the program offers a list of keywords beginning with these letters, for instance
setup
setting
settee
settlement
settler
to choose from.

When settler is selected all book titles containing the word (in singular, plural or genitive form)  are offered. In the case of a library there might be many matching listings. The viewer could be unsure which title is the one a friend recommended. There may be titles like
..
..
"Problems of the First Settlers"
"Irish Ancestors of Settlers in North America"
"The First Settlers in North America"
"French Settlers in Canada"
..
Findfast now displays "Listings". Listings are .TXT files containing a table in HTML format that the program writes into a dynamic HTML page.

In the case of a library catalogue the Listing would contain the names of author and publisher, the number of pages, the year a book was published, and icons (also called "pictograms") telling viewers at a glance whether it is a book for children or adults only, or a dissertation, or whatever classification might be appropriate. Icons can be publisher logos and indicate the price range, binding type (paperback etc.).

A click on an icon like the one shown left would open the associated document (a dedicated page) where all the information is displayed that a viewer might need before deciding to purchase the book.

Search success does not depend on words actually contained in files found and displayed. Words a less well informed viewer might use can be keywords.

Example:
British housewives are used to call a vacuum cleaner a "Hoover" because Hoover marketing is backed by impressive advertising. Full-text search would find Hoover products only in this case. Findfast would display all available vacuum cleaners.

1 Findfast search options.
   Operation is described, based on the example of a
   Findfast supported accommodation catalogue.

Virtual Site Map

To navigate click on a
folder and select a page.

Block pop-ups while you are here.
Activex is not required to view this site.

If you accidentally click on the right part of the
sponsor's banner this page will be overwritten.
Use your browser's Back button to return to this site.


This counter counts visitors, not hits.
This site is aimed at the 10,000-odd publishers
of content websites, a very small minority of the
people roaming the Internet. It was uploaded first time on
November 29th, 2004.
Getting more than 20 viewers a day would be a great success


Why did we insert the Google search facility here?
Simply because this is the fastest way to motivate
the Google spider to inspect this site.

One day after the site was launched and submitted
to Google it was listed for on-site search engine as # 59,
for "on-site search engine" as #  9, and for
"content site search" "artificial intelligence"
as # 1.

Initially the only visitors to the site were people who had been
invited. On December 2nd the first visitors arrived who had
found this site through Google powered search engines.

Of course, there is more to it than just linking to Google.
The author of the Findfast on-site content search engine was
a member of a team that developed web search engines and
therefore knows how to intrigue search engine robots.