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CHOMP IS THE SEARCH ENGINE THAT FINDS THE APPS YOU WANT. Chomp's proprietary algorithm learns the functions and topics of apps, so you can search based on what apps do, not just what they're called. Try searching for "puzzle games", "kids games", "expense trackers", "tip calculators" or "chat" and start finding great apps.

"Google understands the importance of finding the right information at the right time. We create tools to let you find the information you need, of the kind you need, when you need it. In most cases, a simple search works really well. But for more specialized questions, a bit of instruction in how to search improves all searcher--from middle school students to trained professionals--and lets you discover and use more, higher quality sources than ever before."

"We aim to provide a great experience for our users and have developed over 200 signals to ensure our search algorithms deliver the best possible results. Starting next week, we will begin taking into account a new signal in our rankings: the number of valid copyright removal notices we receive for any given site. Sites with high numbers of removal notices may appear lower in our results. This ranking change should help users find legitimate, quality sources of content more easily-whether it's a song previewed on NPR's music website, a TV show on Hulu or new music streamed from Spotify. "

"Whether you're searching for apps on your mobile device, browser, desktop or any other platform, we make sure you can always find the tools you need. We'll find you apps for every activity and task imaginable. Just answer one question for us: What do you want to do? Quixey was founded in 2009 to solve a problem - millions of apps were being created, but there was no simple way to find them. App discovery was limited to categories, top ten lists, directories and basic keyword search. Quixey was created to help people easily find apps simply by describing want they wanted to do. "

Often times the conversation reminds me that what's obvious to me is amazing to someone else. Last week I had that very experience as I taught a couple of teachers some search techniques that they are going to pass along to their students. As a follow-up to that experience, I've crafted the following list of search tools and tactics that every teacher and student should know.

This is not mere Google bashing which has become very fashionable these days. It is not about the deteriorating search quality of Google everyone is starting to notice or why Microsoft's Bing is any better. It is really about how the cyber world is changing and shaping the needs and expectations which have evolved beyond mere key word search. Services like Scoop.it will meet those because Google won't. Pretty soon the question will be "have you scooped it?" rather than "Have you Googled it?"

Here's a search with a twist.  Like most search engines, you enter a search key to get things started.  The results are displayed based upon that key but here's the deal.  They're plotted by timezone!  And, plotted around the globe.

"Published on Jul 1, 2013 Knowing where we're going often means knowing where we've come from. The history of search engines is a short one, but one of constant change. In today's Whiteboard Friday, Danny Sullivan takes a look at how search has evolved into the complicated engine it's become, and what that means for its neon-lit, rocket-car future.

"Google has quietly retooled the closely guarded formula running its internet search engine to give better answers to the increasingly complex questions posed by web surfers. The overhaul came as part of an update called "Hummingbird" that Google has gradually rolled out in the past month without disclosing the modifications."

"Searching the app store is clunky. Here at iAppGuide we give you an easy way to search and preview the app store from one screen. We provide you specialized sorting and innovative previews to make finding awesome apps easier!"

I learned that a Google search will now yield results by reading level. We  can check out search results that are designated either basic, intermediate or advanced.

This series from Mashable has a number of posts looking at the world of search and how it is/will develop.

"For businesses, being able to keep track of specific conversations on Twitter can be very important. While there are social media listening tools/platforms that can help you follow set conversations, there are ways you can achieve this on Twitter if you cannot afford to invest in a comprehensive social media listening platform itself. With the use of Advanced Search or a few tweaks to your normal searches on Twitter, you'll find you can really narrow down which conversations you focus on."

"We extracted the colors from 10 million Creative Commons images on Flickr. Search this collection by color. Addictive and very likely the best color search engine in the world"

via @wfryer

Oolone is a search engine like Google, but it uses visual technology to help you find results. Instead of text results, we bring up pictures of results. You can download a sample lesson plan from the site and more ideas and lesson plans are available on Edmodo.

DuckDuckGo illustrated guide is useful for class and staffroom discussion. Run some of the tests with your students and compare results - from home and from school, and from different search engines.

GlobalStats StatCounter publish stats for the following: Browsers Browser Versions Mobile Browsers Operating Systems Mobile Operating Systems Search Engines Mobile Search Engines Mobile vs. Desktop Screen Resolutions Social Media

A Twitter pics search engine, Twicsy provides a handy 'in the last hour' search filter. You can even use pre-set widgets to access images from specific user accounts in real-time.

Teachers and students can use Gooru to search for rich collections of multimedia resources, digital textbooks, videos, games and quizzes created by educators in the Gooru community. Gooru is free (of cost and ads) and developed by a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to honor the human right to education. Search for the best multimedia resources on the web. Customize your favorite resources, collections and quizzes. Study from collections of resources created by teachers. Interact with the Gooru community of teachers and students. Practice with enhanced quizzes that provide instant feedback. Share your knowledge about topics you are passionate about.

A number of organizations offer public map data through Google Maps, but finding it can be tricky -- if you even know it exists. That may not be an issue now that Google has just launched its Maps Gallery. The web portal showcases location info from both Google and a slew of its Maps Engine partners, ranging from the World Bank's internet usage stats to National Geographic's historical overlays. This is really just the start of the search firm's map discovery efforts, though. Google tells TechCrunch that it wants to surface public maps in regular search results, and it would also like to draw attention to Maps Engine Lite data created by amateur cartographers.