Ann Smarty, the new Director of Media for Search & Social at Search Engine Journal, today made Surf Canyon the “Featured Firefox Extension for Search”:
“Surf Canyon is a useful Firefox extension that enhances your web search experience with recommendations based on your preferences.”
→ 1 CommentTags: Testimonials · Media
Back in November we updated you on some of the feedback we’ve been receiving on AMO (addons.mozilla.org). Since then there’s been a lot of more positive stuff. Here are some of the highlights:
Mac’s Power Tools by Megalomac on June 10, 2009
This is like adding adrenaline to google search. Based upon your searching, it locates extra links that you will probably find useful. You can also add the latest twitter comments based upon your search terms.
by PG57Blue on April 15, 2009
As a researcher I love Surf Canyon! I am able to drill down into my searches much faster…..Thanks for the add-on!
by Goodbird on March 30, 2009
Now that Surf Canyon works with WOT on every search, it’s perfect! Thanks Surf Canyon for listening to your users.
by unRheal on March 4, 2009
Awesome idea! Excellent implementation so far, and still room to make this into an even more valuable add-on. Something “G” has failed to implement themselves. Everybody is different - so how could returning the exact same results to a gazillion people be optimal? (trick question)*Definitely* worth checking out, IMHO!
by Se Capitan on January 3, 2009
I’m not one to use a lot or even try ‘non-appearance’ add-ons … but, with all these good reviews I thought I’d try it out, and I was surprised how RIDICULOUSLY accurate it was. No doubt, 5 stars - great tool. (Firefox keeps getting better and better.)
by usanyou on December 6, 2008
What a great research tool…This addon digs deep through the SERPs to bring me pages that I would never find without it - great for me and great for the pages that would otherwise remain buried! Had a little trouble with it in the beginning, through no fault of the addon. Am just as impressed with support. Slick!
→ No CommentsTags: Testimonials
This morning at the Launch: Silicon Valley 2009, Surf Canyon announced the launch of a collaborative effort with Search Cloudlet to produce a search site, available at Cloudlet.SurfCanyon.com, combining the two company’s complimentary technologies. In addition to having the opportunity to demonstrate the new product at LSV 2009, Josh Lowensohn, associate editor for CNET’s Webware.com, covered the launch and had this to say:
“The benefits of using this tool over Google alone are numerous… You… get Search Cloudlet’s sorting technology, which lets you filter results by domain or keyword from its word cloud. You also get Surf Canyon’s related results feature, which can recommend results from pages that appear deeper in a search. In my quick go, this was pulling up results from as deep as 25 pages (or 250 results from the top result) into a search.”
Charles Knight at AltSearchEngines also reported the launch. The press release is below.
Surf Canyon and Search Cloudlet Combine Their Technologies For Search
Mountain View, CA - June 09, 2009 – Surf Canyon and Search Cloudlet today announced, at Launch: Silicon Valley 2009 (http://launchsiliconvalley.org), the release of a new search engine, available at http://cloudlet.surfcanyon.com, which combines both of their technologies to offer users a fast and innovative method for finding information on the internet.
Surf Canyon develops technology for real-time implicit search personalization which assists users in finding relevant information buried within the often overwhelming quantity of search results. The software figures out what the user wants and then automatically recommends more relevant search results. By observing the user’s behavior as the search is taking place, Surf Canyon’s technology builds a real-time model of inferred intent, which is then used to calculate the “instantaneous relevancies” of documents in the result set. The instantaneous relevancies are then used to immediately move forward the most pertinent documents while pushing back those that are less relevant.
INTSPEI Search Cloudlet creates tag clouds for your search results, suggesting which keywords you should add to the search to narrow it in the most powerful way. Unlike existing cloud-based search tools, the Search Cloudlet offers context-sensitive navigation clouds: for web search, it provides tag-cloud, server-cloud and net-cloud search refinement tools. There are two main ways that Search Cloudlet helps users improve their search experience. First, it helps them efficiently narrow the search: a user should simply click on a cloud item (tag, server, etc.) to add it to (or remove from) the query. Second, it helps to provide a summary of all search results without even reviewing them - the cloud is located on the top of the page, so users do not even need to scroll down to learn what the resulting pages are about.
Surf Canyon and Search Cloudlet were initially offered as browser extensions. Now, however, both of these technologies are combined into an online search engine which does not require any downloads or installation in order to benefit from the combined technologies. Click http://cloudlet.surfcanyon.com and try the integrated Surf Canyon plus Search Cloudlet engine.
About Surf Canyon
Surf Canyon develops real-time implicit personalization technology for internet search. Its patent-pending Discovery Engine for Search™ transforms result pages from lists of static links into dynamic knowledge resources, enabling users to more quickly and easily find pertinent information buried among all the irrelevant results, significantly accelerating the search process. The company is headquartered in Oakland, CA and was founded in 2006. For more information please visit www.SurfCanyon.com.
About INTSPEI
The International Software and Productivity Engineering Institute (INTSPEI, http://www.intspei.com) is a research organization with main office in Kiev (Ukraine). INTSPEI incubates, develops and distributes advanced productivity and software engineering tools based on the original award-winning research conducted by its founders since 2001.
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Update (6/10/2009) - Both CenterNetworks and Free Technology for Teachers wrote about the launch.
→ No CommentsTags: Collaboration · Press Releases · Announcements · Testimonials · Media
The big news with v2.0.5, released this morning, is integration with Microsoft’s shiny new search engine, Bing! Only launched on Monday of this week, Bing is very impressive and has been receiving wonderful reviews. Now, only a few days later, thanks to the latest version of Surf Canyon’s glowingly-reviewed, award-winning application, it’s even better:
Don Dodge, Director of Business Development for Microsoft’s Emerging Business Team and author of The Next Big Thing, wrote about Surf Canyon’s integration with Bing:
Two… innovative startups, WebMynd and Surf Canyon, worked quickly to customize Bing with real-time search results powered by OneRiot. Surf Canyon CEO, Mark Cramer, said that they are excited about this integration because “Bing users can now re-rank search results ‘on the fly’ plus get OneRiot’s real-time web results to further transform Bing search results into dynamic portals of information.”
Additionally, the new version contains additional compatibility with Google’s search pages.
Finally, we’d like to suggest that our users give WOT (Web of Trust) a try. WOT warns you about risky websites that try to scam visitors, deliver malware, send spam or steal personal information. WOT’s color-coded icons show you ratings for over 22 million websites - green for trust, yellow for caution and red to stop - helping you avoid interaction with harmful sites. We ensured full compatibility with WOT in v2.0.3.
Enjoy! And, as always, we appreciate feedback.
Update (6/9/2009) - Charles Knight at AltSearchEngines covered the new release.
→ No CommentsTags: Announcements · Personalization
We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve been selected to present at SVASE Launch: Silicon Valley 2009. Together with Search Cloudlet, we’ll be introducing an exciting new joint product. Here is the SVASE Launch: Silicon Valley press release:
Countdown to Launch: Silicon Valley 2009 Continues as SVASE Selects 30 Emerging Tech Companies to Unveil New Products and Services at Major Event
Startup companies from around the world prepare to make their public debut to Panels of Silicon Valley’s Most Influential VC and Angel Investors
San Jose, Calif – May 26 , 2009— The Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs (SVASE) today announced the names of the 30 companies invited to present new products at Launch: Silicon Valley 2009. The event, which will be held June 9 at the Microsoft Campus in Mountain View, is a platform for emerging technology companies to springboard their products or services into the market, while networking with an audience of Silicon Valley’s most influential executives.
This year’s presenters were selected from almost 400 applicants and span the categories of information technology, mobility, security, digital media, next generation internet, technology and clean energy.
Selected demonstrating companies for Launch: Silicon Valley 2009 include:
Company: Application
Andolis: Video over IP
BLADE: Network switches
Cellwand: Short dial codes - #TAXI
CRS Ware: Carbon accounting management
Displ’aire: Large portable video
eCitySky: 3D Shared Game
Electronic Sports: Sports gaming machines
Fonolo: Phone system mapping
GazoPa: Image search engine
Gliider: Travel research tool
HearPlanet: Travel iPhone app
InDxLogic: Document Indexing medical records
Live Glass: Configurable glass
Lumiette: light source
MentorNet: Mentoring
Moblyng: Mobile games
Netmite: Smart phone platform
Prezi: Presentation S/W
ReMobile: Cell phone recycling
Replay: S/W error tracking
Socailibrium: Mobile CRM
Sunpods: Solar
Surf Canyon: Real Time Search
Trooval: Timeshare lead generation
TuneBug: Turns helmets into speakers
Weogeo: Mapping service
Windation: Wind power
Wordslaw: Legal Services
Wowd: People Powered search
Yoics: Internet connectivity
“Launch: Silicon Valley provides a terrific platform for startups to launch their products to the world,” said Chris Gill, President and CEO of SVASE. “The growing popularity of this major early stage startup event, with the innovation and talent showcased here, have inspired a significant increase in applicants from around the world this year. The result is a must-attend event for potential investors, partners, press, bloggers, entrepreneurs and other Silicon Valley influencers who are searching for those exciting startups that may ultimately become the next great companies to emerge from the Valley.”
The event will kick off with the Pre-Launch: Silicon Valley Event Party on the evening of June 8, when presenting startup teams will have the opportunity to network with an audience of Silicon Valley’s top movers and shakers.
Launch: Silicon Valley 2009 will feature new companies that have a product or service available as of June 9, 2009, but have not been in the marketplace for more than a few months beforehand.
The selected companies will present on stage for 6-minutes plus 4 minutes Q &A with the audience and a panel of VCs and Angels, with the opportunity to explain their products in more detail to the audience in networking breaks. The event will also feature an award for the “Most Likely to Succeed” in each of the six presenting categories.
Launch: Silicon Valley provides companies with the opportunity to present themselves to investors and other influencers who can help shape their success. In addition to the presentations, participants also have the opportunity to network with the audience at the Pre-Launch: Silicon Valley Event Party on the evening of June 8, as well as at the event itself.
Launch: Silicon Valley is Presented by SVASE and co-sponsored by the early stage venture capital firm Garage Technology Ventures and Microsoft, which will host the event at the Microsoft Silicon Valley campus in Mountain View. Additional sponsors include Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Townsend Townsend and Crew, Nair & Co., the Band of Angels, Sand Hill Angels, the Angels Forum, Cooley Godward Kronish, The Kauffman Fellows Program, PR Newswire, Halosys Technologies, Keiretsu Forum, Krause-Taylor Associates, Life Science Angels, Link Silicon Valley, and VentureDeal.
For more information about the event, go to: http://launchsiliconvalley.org/index.htm
Audience members may register at the Discounted Early Bird rates at: http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=172468.
About SVASE
Founded in 1995 by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs, The Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs (SVASE) is the largest and fastest growing nonprofit in Northern California dedicated exclusively to helping technology and life science entrepreneurs start and grow successful businesses.
SVASE provides support and resources for entrepreneurs, from the idea through initial rounds of funding to product launch, delivered at 12 monthly events and a continually evolving web site. For more information about SVASE, please visit www.svase.org.
About Garage Technology Ventures
Garage Technology Ventures is a seed-stage and early-stage venture capital fund headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with investors that include Thomas Weisel Partners and CalPERS, the California Public Employees Retirement System. Garage is focused on investing in emerging technology startups in the Western U.S. For more information about Garage, visit http://www.garage.com
Media Contacts:
Jonelle Hester
Krause Taylor Associates (For Launch: Silicon Valley)
jonelle at krause-taylor.com
408-918-9083
OR
Jeff Lettes
Director of Communications (SVASE)
jlettes at globalmediastrategy.com
408-406-1161
→ 1 CommentTags: Press Releases · Announcements
Jolie O’Dell at ReadWriteWeb wrote a post about OneRiot’s new real-time web results API and their partnerships with Surf Canyon and WebMynd. A couple nice screen shots of Surf Canyon in action were included at the bottom. We announced our integration with OneRiot’s real-time web results in March with our launch of v2.0.2 and have since made some esthetic and performance improvements.
Here is OneRiot’s press release:
WebMynd and Surf Canyon Introduce Realtime Search Powered by OneRiot
Browser Add-Ons Customize Google with Results from Realtime Web
BOULDER, Colo./ SAN FRANCISCO – May 22, 2009 - OneRiot, the realtime web search engine, today announced a partnership with both WebMynd and Surf Canyon to customize Google, Yahoo! and Live Search with realtime web results powered by OneRiot.
WebMynd and Surf Canyon are browser extensions that allow users to personalize traditional search pages. WebMynd and Surf Canyon are among a growing list of companies to recently join the OneRiot Realtime Search Partner Program which offers developers access to the company’s search API.
WebMynd for Firefox helps users visualize their browsing history while also enhancing Google searches with customized results from sources like Wikipedia, YouTube and now OneRiot. Surf Canyon for Firefox and Internet Explorer finds relevant information that’s buried within pages of search results in Google Yahoo!, MSN Live Search, Lexis Web and Craigslist.
“We are laser focused on improving traditional web search by delivering the most relevant results possible and our partnership with OneRiot is key to that strategy,” said Mark Cramer, CEO of Surf Canyon. “We develop realtime personalization by re-ranking search results ‘on the fly’ and OneRiot’s realtime web results naturally enhance our ability to transform static search pages into dynamic portals of information.”
Download WebMynd or Surf Canyon for free from the OneRiot App Gallery: http://www.oneriot.com/product/addons
About OneRiot API and Realtime Search Partner Program
The OneRiot Realtime Search Partner Program is for developers of browser add-ons, desktop applications, social websites and other services looking to enhance their user experience with realtime web search powered by OneRiot. The OneRiot API is free and available by request. For more information about partnering with OneRiot, please contact Jayson Ayers at jayers@oneriot.com.
About OneRiot
Launched in November 2008, OneRiot is a realtime search engine. Users search with OneRiot to find the news, videos and blogs that are people are buzzing about right now on the social web. Uniquely, OneRiot delivers search results as they emerge, ordered to reflect current social relevance. OneRiot is a privately held company headquartered in Boulder, Colo. with offices in San Francisco. For more info, please follow OneRiot at http://www.oneriot.com // http://twitter.com/OneRiot // http://blog.oneriot.com.
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→ No CommentsTags: Collaboration · Press Releases · Announcements
COLUMBUS, OH (May 19, 2009) – Surf Canyon Incorporated and Brand Thunder LLC announced today an agreement to integrate Surf Canyon’s highly praised personalized search application into Brand Thunder’s custom browser Booms!. Given the complementary nature of the two products, the partnership will focus on improving the search experience for users of Brand Thunder’s Booms!.
Surf Canyon enhances major search engines by improving relevancy and accelerating discovery of appropriate search results. The improved relevancy comes from the connection between Surf Canyon and the Brand Thunder Boom!. For example, a query for “King James” from a Cleveland Cavaliers Boom! could favor results for LeBron James over results for the 16th Century’s King James VI & I. Additionally, Surf Canyon uses clicks within the search results page to quickly refine suggestions and speed the time it takes a user to find the desired results.
“This is the first bundling partnership for Surf Canyon,” said Mark Cramer, CEO of Surf Canyon. “We’re excited about working with Brand Thunder as they offer an excellent showcase of how much better search can be when an audience’s interests are factored into their search queries.”
“Search is so core to a user’s Internet experience,” said Patrick Murphy, founder and CEO of Brand Thunder. “Surf Canyon has received such a positive response, we felt it was a natural extension to our goal of providing a better and more personal browsing experience.”
Brand Thunder’s browser Booms! are free, lightweight active customizations that can include themes, toolbars, sidebars and other content or functionality. Users can switch real-time between any installed Booms!, or change from a full Boom! view to a small Boom! (toolbar only), all without restarting the browser.
About Surf Canyon:
Surf Canyon develops real-time implicit personalization technology for Internet search. Its patent-pending Discovery Engine for Search™ transforms result pages from lists of static links into dynamic knowledge resources, enabling users to more quickly and easily find pertinent information buried among all the irrelevant results, significantly accelerating the search process. The company is headquartered in Oakland, CA and was founded in 2006. For more information please visit www.SurfCanyon.com.
About Brand Thunder:
Formed in April 2007, Brand Thunder creates custom-browser experiences. Brands enjoy a more persistent connection to their Internet consumer through the custom browser Boom!, which increases website visits and revenue. Through a software installation, end users change the look and feel of their Internet browser into an immersive experience from their favorite sports team, entertainment franchise or Internet site. The custom browser Booms! feature official logos, colors, content and functionality, but can also extend capabilities including video, music players or other Internet widgets. Current business partners and clients include the Huffington Post, Major League Soccer, NASCAR, NBA, NCAA, NHL, Universal Music and Yahoo!. Samples found at http://brandthunder.com/gallery/.
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The press release was also posted on Brand Thunder’s blog.
→ No CommentsTags: Collaboration · Press Releases · Announcements
Don Reisinger, CNET Blog Network author, returns with another list of useful Firefox extensions. This time he lists the top 15 add-ons for bloggers, and we’re honored to be in the top 3:
“When you research a post on Google, Yahoo, or Live Search, chances are that you might be missing some relevant links on pages that are lower in the search results… Almost every time, Surf Canyon returned outstanding results. I highly recommend it.
Here are the top three Firefox extensions you must have:
→ No CommentsTags: Testimonials · Media
v2.0.4 introduces top of page Refinements. Additionally, the Categories introduced with v1.1.4 have also been relabeled Refinements.
Refinements are suggested query reformulations based on your query and Surf Canyon’s real-time model of your inferred intent. In a sense, Refinements are personalized reformulations targeted to your “at the moment” information need. Furthermore, these links will send you to a search page where the results are already re-ranked, facilitating once again the process of finding what you need. The display of Refinements can be controlled under the Settings tab on my.SurfCanyon.com.
For users of our Firefox add-on, we have also introduced an on/off button in the right-hand corner of the Status Bar at the bottom of the browser. Clicking the button will quickly disable and re-enable Surf Canyon’s re-ranking
Lastly, we’d like to recommend that our users check out samfind Bookmarks Bar. This fully loaded Bar has a bit of social, search and RSS in it, is unobtrusive when not being used and has received excellent reviews from PC Magazine and PC World. Surf Canyon is also one of the default search engines. You might want to give it a try. Enjoy!
Update (5/3/2009) - Ashraf at dotTech.org posted a complimentary piece entitled “Surf Canyon: Using search engines just got easier.”
Update (5/8/2009) - Charles Knight at AltSearchEngines covered the release of our latest version, as did Samuel Dean at Web Worker Daily who had this to say:
“… some browser extensions can really help streamline online searching. One of the best extensions for this is Surf Canyon… It’s only a tiny 33K extension, but it can be a great help in steering you quickly to the most relevant information on any search topic.
… Surf Canyon includes several useful features… The most useful of these is a new top-of-page collection of search refinement suggestions… The extension is smart enough [for example] to know that dolphins are intelligent, and that I may be interested in this aspect of them, and it also draws a relationship between dolphins and whales, in addition to other connections it makes.”
→ 2 CommentsTags: Announcements · Testimonials · Reformulation · Media · Personalization
Not that search is boring (we think it’s incredibly exciting, although we’re willing to recognize that perhaps not everyone shares our level of enthusiasm), but why not spice it up with a laugh from time to time?
America’s Finest News Source, The Onion, winner of the prestigious Peabody Award only last week, has been delighting audiences since 1988. Now, with Surf Canyon, you can get their satirical insights during your normal searching on the major search engines. If you already have the application installed, simply go to my.SurfCanyon.com and check the box next to “The Onion.” Save your preferences and then next time you run a query, should relevant Onion content be available, you will see it presented on the results page.
Below is an example of a recent search for “Obama.” Hilarious. Enjoy!
