What makes GoFetch perfect for research? Besides built-in functionality for saving and accessing content, GoFetch has a growing catalog of bookmarks. The profile page at http://www.carvetek.com/fetchProfiles.htm lists different interests and enables users to quickly download profiles that direct users to the best web resources.
This is a different approach then blindly going to a search engine and trying to find accurate information. For example, pretend there is a health issue your doctor advised you may be at risk for. You could go to a popular search engine, and start a query on this topic. The search engine likely ends up listing links to pages on popular health related websites. After combing through several dozen links, you end up on a popular health related website. Many, if not all, reputable websites today have their own search capabilities. In essence, you could have gone to the source initially and saved time. With GoFetch, you can easily download a health profile which guides users to the best health related websites on the Internet. >see the movie
The profile page is currently limited in scope but as users contribute, the page will grow rapidly. In order to make profile sharing easier, the Profile Edit window enables users to quickly share their bookmark profiles with other users.
I worked as a ski instructor in Vail for several years. I’m constantly checking the Colorado resort snow reports. This special knowledge and interest is likely shared with other users across the country. With GoFetch, I easily share my favorite sites with all users. >see the movie
As the profile page grows, we plan on adopting enhanced interaction to bring the best websites to our users. The page will contain rankings and comments, along with the ability to email profiles to friends or colleagues. This makes research easier and empowers users to learn from the community. Furthermore, the community will get the chance to learn from experts in specialized fields. Imagine education profiles that parents and teachers create for children to learn math, English, or science. Imagine a profile a famous business icon creates, such as a Warren Buffet finance profile, or a Bill Gates profile on philanthropy.
Another resource for the growing profile page is Alexa. Alexa, owned by Amazon, ranks web traffic http://www.alexa.com/. The company also has a web service that provides top performing website information. It’s capable of providing the most popular website information for many categories. This is the result after searching for “science” on Alexa.
As the picture notes, Sciencemag.org is the most popular but Wikipedia.org is much more engaging and users spend twice as long on Wikipedia.org. GoFetch could leverage this data and automate the profile creation process via the Alexa API.
In the next blog entry, I’ll talk about how we’re creating a more engaging experience for our users with new web pages on the GoFetch home page. Such as GoFetch Good News page which lists ONLY good news headlines.
Steps Taken
•GoFetch Good News version 1 created at http://www.carvetek.com/fetchGoodNews.htm
Next Steps
•Code download for PDF files, similar to bundling HTML pages
Cheers! And GoFetch
Will Thayer
