Headup - Semantic browser integration
I've been following the development of Headup over the last several months and it’s been a rewarding experience.
I interviewed Mike Darnell a month or so ago and asked him several questions as to where he sees Headup in the future and what their current goals are. Since then, Headup have pretty much ticked all of those goal boxes already.
In order to catch them before they explode on to the scene on a larger scale than they have so far, I thought I'd write a review specifically focusing on how the tool operates and what it offers.
Headup is a browser plug-in that was originally only available on Firefox, but has since become available for all common browser platforms. The plug-in takes moments to install and just requires a restart of your browser for it to be activated.
Once installed it integrates with the browser in a number of ways. It is always available in the bottom right hand sys-tray of your browser window, from there you can activate or deactivate service.
When activated it takes a few moments for the plug-in to start operating, once running Headup will appear at the top of search results with a orange dotted line, underlining your search term. Mouse over this term and the Headup logo will appear above, upon which you can click and the Microsoft Silverlight window will open.
Inside this window you will find associated references related to your search terms pulled from the databases that Headup currently works with. You can click and browse these items from the window.
To get the full benefit from Headup, you need to add your social media details to the interface and it will then personalise the results to a much higher degree.
Mike Darnell has kindly allowed for a beta version of the Headup tool to be installed in the on-page code of this blog to illustrate how the plug-in works, without requiring you to install the software.
This is an early beta version of the on-page installation of the Headup software, so I’ll apologise now for any unexpected behaviour, any unusual operating actions can be reported to @headup. One of the issues I know exists, is that Microsoft don't support PowerPC Mac's with Silverlight 2, which is needed for Headup.
I'm going to stay in touch with Mike while the widget develops as a project, updating the facility on the site as it goes. Hopefully this will illustrate the progress Headup are making as a company also.
To expedite this demo I am going to include a number of leading exponents of the social media world to see what Headup can tell us about them. These include @scobleizer, @chrisbrogan, @mashable and @mikebutcher.
While I see there is further development work required from Headup to extend its benefit beyond that of social media and the larger internet service providers, I think they have done a fantastic job of implementing and growing the app so far. Taking on the advice and requests from their growing user base.
There's good commercial potential from the interface, integrating the tool with internal databases within large organisations intranets, to assist with the search for extended information, when conducting research. Mike has confirmed they have been approached by a number of organisations with implementations such as this in mind.
The semantic web is an area of great interest to me and companies like SemantiNet are embracing this new technology and trying to push the boundaries of what we take for granted on the internet currently.
They are not alone in this quest for better value from existing content, deep web searching companies are also striving for better content delivery. While existing established search companies are extending their advertising platforms, a number of these smaller companies are improving the service that we currently have at their own expense.
While I am aware all of these companies will require financial incentives to grow further, and that this will be part of their existing business plans, I think as internet professionals we should actively support this proactive development of the technology platform.
The internet is a growing market and there's much unexplored potential out there, pioneering of this type should celebrated and encouraged.
Related links:
Semantic Web - The foundations - Digital Signals
http://www.digital-constructions.com/blog/2009/02/semantic-web-foundations.html
Interview with Mike Darnell of Headup - Digital Signals http://www.digital-constructions.com/blog/2009/02/interview-with-mike-darnell-of-headup.html
Semantic internet - Intelligent web future - Digital Signals http://www.digital-constructions.com/blog/2009/01/semantic-web-future-intelligent.html
I interviewed Mike Darnell a month or so ago and asked him several questions as to where he sees Headup in the future and what their current goals are. Since then, Headup have pretty much ticked all of those goal boxes already.
In order to catch them before they explode on to the scene on a larger scale than they have so far, I thought I'd write a review specifically focusing on how the tool operates and what it offers.
Headup is a browser plug-in that was originally only available on Firefox, but has since become available for all common browser platforms. The plug-in takes moments to install and just requires a restart of your browser for it to be activated.
Once installed it integrates with the browser in a number of ways. It is always available in the bottom right hand sys-tray of your browser window, from there you can activate or deactivate service.
When activated it takes a few moments for the plug-in to start operating, once running Headup will appear at the top of search results with a orange dotted line, underlining your search term. Mouse over this term and the Headup logo will appear above, upon which you can click and the Microsoft Silverlight window will open.
Inside this window you will find associated references related to your search terms pulled from the databases that Headup currently works with. You can click and browse these items from the window.
To get the full benefit from Headup, you need to add your social media details to the interface and it will then personalise the results to a much higher degree.
Mike Darnell has kindly allowed for a beta version of the Headup tool to be installed in the on-page code of this blog to illustrate how the plug-in works, without requiring you to install the software.
This is an early beta version of the on-page installation of the Headup software, so I’ll apologise now for any unexpected behaviour, any unusual operating actions can be reported to @headup. One of the issues I know exists, is that Microsoft don't support PowerPC Mac's with Silverlight 2, which is needed for Headup.
I'm going to stay in touch with Mike while the widget develops as a project, updating the facility on the site as it goes. Hopefully this will illustrate the progress Headup are making as a company also.
To expedite this demo I am going to include a number of leading exponents of the social media world to see what Headup can tell us about them. These include @scobleizer, @chrisbrogan, @mashable and @mikebutcher.
While I see there is further development work required from Headup to extend its benefit beyond that of social media and the larger internet service providers, I think they have done a fantastic job of implementing and growing the app so far. Taking on the advice and requests from their growing user base.
There's good commercial potential from the interface, integrating the tool with internal databases within large organisations intranets, to assist with the search for extended information, when conducting research. Mike has confirmed they have been approached by a number of organisations with implementations such as this in mind.
The semantic web is an area of great interest to me and companies like SemantiNet are embracing this new technology and trying to push the boundaries of what we take for granted on the internet currently.
They are not alone in this quest for better value from existing content, deep web searching companies are also striving for better content delivery. While existing established search companies are extending their advertising platforms, a number of these smaller companies are improving the service that we currently have at their own expense.
While I am aware all of these companies will require financial incentives to grow further, and that this will be part of their existing business plans, I think as internet professionals we should actively support this proactive development of the technology platform.
The internet is a growing market and there's much unexplored potential out there, pioneering of this type should celebrated and encouraged.
Related links:
Semantic Web - The foundations - Digital Signals
http://www.digital-constructions.com/blog/2009/02/semantic-web-foundations.html
Interview with Mike Darnell of Headup - Digital Signals http://www.digital-constructions.com/blog/2009/02/interview-with-mike-darnell-of-headup.html
Semantic internet - Intelligent web future - Digital Signals http://www.digital-constructions.com/blog/2009/01/semantic-web-future-intelligent.html
Labels: deep web, deep web searching, headup, semantic internet, semantic web
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posted by Ed Richardson at
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