Morph & In-line functions: The power behind the panels

If you've been reading the Ask blog since last week's launch post, you know a little bit about Ask3D and the kinds of content it pulls up aside from your standard ten blue links.

"Okay then," You might ask, So the right-hand panel can give me content like Encyclopedia, Images, Dictionary, Recent Posts from blogs & RSS Feeds, Music Guides, News, Television, the correct time, Videos, Weather, and Songs with in-line play (just to name a few)…

"…but how does Ask3D know which content goes best with my search?"

Glad you asked.

 

Morph of what you want

No, Morph is not our new mascot (we're done with the mascot thing), it's our new content-matching algorithm that literally changes the results page according to your unique query.

Morph deep-dives hundreds of structured databases, taking into account not only relevance based on source signals, but also previous user behavior for your query.

It chooses among all possible content modules (a few of which we mention above). Then, it not only retrieves the most relevant content, it ranks the modules on the page depending on the topic.

Take New York Weather, for example.

Since it's very the kind of query you'd make before taking an action (planning a trip, leaving for work), Morph puts the more actionable modules--like maps and the correct time--at the top.

Morph creates this ranking from a variety of data, including:

-Relevant signals within the content (keywords, tags, freshness, etc.)

-Aggregate user behavior for your query (e.g. what other searchers clicked on when presented with these modules)

The result: you get the right information, from the right sources, in the right place, at the right time.

But does Ask 3D stop there? No, it does not.

 

In-line functions: Vertical search, rollovers & more

These right-panel modules aren't just content buckets. You can interact and even search within them as well.

In-page Vertical Search
Ask3D provides two ways to search deeper in a vertical without having to go back to the left-hand search box:

1. You can click the title or hit the "More" button to conduct your original query in that particular vertical channel.

2. You can do a COMPLETELY new vertical search in that module! Just click the magnifying glass icon that appears in the upper right of each unit, and the unit will convert into a search box, like so:

Thanks, AJAX technology!

Additional perks also include:

Image Mouseovers
Roll over an image thumbnail for a larger view of that image.

Video Mouseovers
A particularly cool function. Roll over a video thumbnail to see a 5-second preview, right in the page.

(Okay, a screen shot doesn't do this one justice; try it for yourself)

Music Clips
In partnership with iLike, Ask3D returns music clips for individual artists, like, for instance, the Rolling Stones.

Geo-Targeted Businesses and Event Listings
Ask3D can even give you geo-targeted information. In the mood for a doughnut? Query "doughnuts" and you'll get the stores closest to your location.

Similarly, if an artist is on tour, you'll also see local Event Listings:

Granted, you could have found for yourself how robust these cool gadgets are…but aren't you glad we told you about them instead? After all, Ask3D is all about saving you time. If you haven't already, give it a try.

Ken Grobe
Product Content Manager
Ask.com