MicroSearch: A Specialized Video Search System for Academic Content

November 3, 2016

I am not sure if the Alphabet Google thing will be down with this new video search system over the long haul. If you want a different way to locate academic videos, you will want to explore MicroSearch’s system. MicroSearch says that it is “a boutique search engine company, providing private, secure video and document cloud storage as well as custom search services.”

I learned about this service in “University Videos on YouTube Get Custom Search.” You can explore the system at http://universityvideos.org/Home. The search system is at this link.

According to the write up, the system aggregates university videos and:

includes a video player that shows the video playing on the left and a transcript tracking with the video on the right. Clicking into another sentence in the transcript jumps the user to that part of the video.

I highlighted this passage:

The service also includes a search tool that allows the user to search on transcript contents, title, description, duration, category, tags, YouTube channel and year uploaded. The same fields are available as metadata, when search results are displayed and downloaded as an Excel export file. An advanced search feature lets the user enter a few letters into the transcription field and then click on an Index button next to the field to obtain a window that displays all of the terms with that series of letters.

Our test queries suggested that the system is less wonky than Google’s video search. The fact that Google is splitting its text index into one part for mobile and one part for traditional desktop search makes clear that search at Google is a work in progress. With a new search system for a segment of YouTube videos, one can conclude that YouTube video search is not a home run for some users.

Perhaps more attention on search and less on Loon balloons might solve the problem. On the other hand, Alphabet Google can simply block developers of “better mousetraps” and move forward with its online advertising programs and projects like solving death. Search is for revenue and maybe not for finding relevant content?

Stephen E Arnold, November 3, 2016

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under Google, News, Rich media, Search

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.