Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Blogs Google Watch
    • Blogs
    • Google Watch
    • Search Engines

    Google Timeline Views: Perhaps Not So Experimental Anymore

    By
    Clint Boulton
    -
    January 5, 2009
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Evidence of more universal search tools from Google continue to be found in the wild, triggered by certain search queries.

      Searches for “book of revelation,” “Thomas Jefferson” and “Albert Einstein” produce timeline views on Google, showing up as bar graphs that let you narrow down the years for your search. Users can see a historical overview of the results by browsing an automatically generated timeline.

      When clicked on, these timeline results lead to a page with a historical overview of the results that Google says comes from its News Archive search service, as noted by Matt McGee on Search Engine Land last night.

      Google told McGee search results content comes from partner content digitized by Google through its News Archive Partner Program and online archival materials that it has crawled. Articles related to a single story within a given time period are grouped together to allow users to see a broad perspective on the topics they are searching, Google said.

      Continuing the great men theme, I found timelines for “Napoleon Bonaparte,” but not “Napoleon Dynamite.” I also found one for Adolph Hitler. Google offers timeline views for “nanotechnology” and “civil rights movement,” too.

      Timeline results could be useful for students, scholars and researchers looking to do papers on certain subjects. These folks may want to pinpoint their searches to specific years. It’s the equivalent of a LexisNexis feature on Google but without the headache and numerous printouts from matrix printers.

      If I have a major criticism of this feature it’s that unless you scroll the length of a search results page, you won’t find it. Google likes to put the timelines at or near the bottom for every query in which timeline is enabled. Terrible idea if Google wants users to click on this feature. Makes me wonder how long these timelines have been appearing in the wild.

      Indeed, timeline views are part of Google’s Experimental Labs for search, which users can join just by clicking on the button.

      The fact that these timeline views are appearing in the wild now makes me wonder how experimental they are at this point. They seem to work pretty well, so why not take the experimental tag off? Right. And Gmail will launch from beta this week.

      Clint Boulton

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×