Google is currently experimenting with some new options for displaying search results. Google Blogscoped outlines these features, including filters to only show specific kinds of results or only show results created within a certain timeframe. The most compelling new feature, though, is one called the “wonder wheel.”
The wonder wheel presents your query with several related search terms. As you click a related term, a new wheel starts from that term, with new spokes to explore further. As you explore the wheel, relevant search results appear in the column to the right. Below is a search I began as “university of kansas”–see how it’s expanded from there to a search of famous athletes from KU.
This video demonstrates the new features–the wonder wheel demo begins about 50 seconds in.
Want to check out the wonder wheel yourself? The aforementioned article on Google Blogscoped includes a bit of Javascript code to copy and paste into your browser’s address window. It looks a little technical, but it’s not difficult. Give it a try! (Note: I’m currently using Safari 4 beta as my primary browser and had problems getting this to work. No problems with Firefox, though.)
Although it’s currently an experiment, I could see the wonder wheel being a useful tool in helping students explore concepts online. What do you think?
5 easy ways to become a better Googler | Hello (a blog from Stratepedia) | April 22nd, 2009
[...] that you can also do things like supercharge your searches with special keywords and characters, search Google visually, or improve your searches through Boolean [...]
mentormatt8 | February 22nd, 2010
If you are having problems generating more than one wheel with GWW, the True Knowledge might be the culprit… see http://annoyances-resolved.blogspot.com/2010/02...
Anonymous | February 22nd, 2010
If you are having problems generating more than one wheel with GWW, the True Knowledge might be the culprit… see http://annoyances-resolved.blogspot.com/2010/02/wonder-wheel-of-google-search-not.html
Stratepedia | February 22nd, 2010
Thanks! Good tips for Firefox users.
Stratepedia | February 22nd, 2010
Thanks! Good tips for Firefox users.