The latest hue and cry over changes to the Google search algorithm (search for “Google farmer update,” I don’t want to dignify any of it with a link) seems like a golden advertising opportunity for topic maps.
The slogan?
Topic Maps: Less Garbage In, Less Garbage Out
That is one of the value-adds of any curated data source isn’t it?
Instead of say 200,000 “hits” post-Farmer update on some subject, what if a topic map offered 20?
Or 0.0001% of the 200,000?
Of course, there are those who would rush forward to say that I might miss an important email or blog posting on subject X.
True, but if it were truly an important email or blog posting then a curator is likely to have picked it up. Yes?
The point of curation is to save users the time and effort of winnowing (wading?) through information garbage.
Here’s a topic map construction idea:
- Capture all the out-going search requests from your location.
- Throw away all the porn searches.
- Create a topic map of the useful answers to the remaining searches.
- Use filtering software to block access to search engines and/or redirect to the topic map.
Your staff is looking for answers to work related questions, yes?
A curated resource, like a topic map, would save them time and effort in finding answers to those questions.