NetBaseQuid is an online search engine, which has been operational since 1995. It hunts keywords from as many sources as possible and displays the results in a list of links. These lists are also ranked depending on relevance and popularity.
For example, Browse and Search can be used to search the Internet for information on a particular topic. The results included might include page and section titles, abstracts and text from publications identified in the database as related to that topic. When you click on one of these references, the corresponding full-text document appears in your browser window.
It is among social media tools which offer users a way to find content by keywords. The service is currently being sold by the Canadian Internet firm HotBot Inc. (former NetBase and NetSearch Technologies, Inc.). WebCrawler is one of the newer companies that have been attempting to market their own search engine software and services.
The company has always been known for supporting other developers’ efforts. NetBaseQuid was among the first major sites on which McAfee’s Spy Ware Guard and MimeGuard e-mail filters were tested, in early 1997. In 2003, more than 20 million internet users had registered with NetBaseQuid to browse and search the web.
social media tools like these are frequently accused of “copying” links from other websites and re-posting them. The NetBaseQuid engine offers ways to customize the search results, with links that you have found, or have been recommended by friends and other users. One of the features is a toolbar where you can define which sites are included in the results.
In April 2006, HotBot Inc., began another service called HotBotLink.com, which offers to link content on any website to its own index of sites that contain the information that you choose. The service works by looking at both sides of each page (page with content and page with link). Other social media tools for information retrieval are Wikipedia, Google and Yahoo! Groups.
In February 2008, HotBot Inc. re-launched the NetBaseQuid search engine software as a product called NetBaseSearch. It was sold to a private investor in May 2009 (see “Details” below).
On September 22, 2009, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas (Case No.: 09-13522). NetBaseQuid has helped in the development of various social media tracking and search tools, including Babel Fish.
Other major sites offering Internet search engines include: Altavista, Excite, Google, Infoseek and Lycos. Links to these sites are available on the NetBaseQuid website. It has also been known for supporting other developers’ efforts.
In 2000, NetBase acquired Quid Inc. (NetBase’s first company was called Quid), which had developed an internet search engine and toolbar for Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator browsers. In 2001, NetBase rebranded the company’s products as NetBaseQuid from their earlier name: HotBot. On 4 January 2005, HotBot introduced a new version of its search software and named it the most-visited search engine in the world, with over 12 million users per month. The company also announced that they would be launching a new international home page.
NetBaseQuid will give full links to web pages where a keyword is found. When you click on a link, this will open in your browser the page address where the search keyword was found.
In order to get links from other websites, you can also set up your own website with RSS feeds from online news sources and blogs that have been tagged and then using NetBaseQuid you can get these links in your reference list as well.
Preferences for each user on the site include: The company files its annual financial statements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under Item 11 of Form 10-K (Statement of Changes in Registrant’s Accounting Accounts or Equity).
