Projects · 2005
A search engine built on the premise that trusting two authorities is better than one. I built it during my PhD, in the early days of web mash-ups, and it was picked up by BusinessWeek, ABC7, the Associated Press, and search and tech sites across the US and Europe.
What it did
DoubleTrust sent each query to Google and Yahoo and merged the top 40 results from each into one compact table of about 80 results. Results both engines ranked well were the stars. Results only one engine returned were the orphans, the good sites you'd miss by using just one engine.
A Trust-o-Meter let you decide how much to trust each engine, which set the ranking of the shared results. The table showed each page's Google and Yahoo rank, a bar for page size, the domain color-coded by type (.edu, .gov, .com), and the site name in bold, since the URL often tells you more than the title.
Original site (2005) About page Full coverage list (40+ blogs)
Press
-
BusinessWeek
“If you ever wonder whether to search on Google or try Yahoo!, you no longer need decide. Computer-science grad student Ashish Gupta mixes search results from both sites into one list at DoubleTrust.net.”
-
BusinessWeek magazine
“Two, two, two search engines in one: Computer science grad student Ashish Gupta mixes search results from Google and Yahoo! into one list at DoubleTrust.net.”
-
ABC7 Los Angeles
“This site takes the results of Google and Yahoo and shows you which ones show up on BOTH and also which are unique to Google and unique to Yahoo. An interesting concept. Think of it as a BLEND of the two sites.”
-
Associated Press
“If you’ve ever had trouble finding that obscure bit of information on the Web, http://www.doubletrust.net might be the site for you.”
-
Search Engine Watch
“DoubleTrust lets you enter a query, then see the “intersection” of the top 40 results from Google and Yahoo, the pages that are listed in both places. You also see the “orphans,” sites unique to only Yahoo or Google.”
-
ResearchBuzz
“More searching and mashup goodness! Whoopee! This time it’s a project from the Computer Science department at Northwestern University. It’s called DoubleTrust … When you visit the site (love the logo btw) you’ll see a query box … This is nifty.”
-
WebProNews
“When dealing with the search industry, many wonder which engine has the most relevant results. This issue can be debated endlessly without either party agreeing on a consensus. This, however, may be changing, at least concerning Yahoo and Google search. Thanks to DoubleTrust.net …”
-
Yahoo! Finance
“DoubleTrust mixes search results from both Yahoo! and Google into one list.”
-
Poynter
“Think of it as a BLEND of the two sites.”
-
American Press Institute
“DoubleTrust rakes the results of Google and Yahoo! and shows you which ones show up on search tools.”
-
Dallas Association of Law Libraries
“I’ve been using DT for about a week now and am really impressed by the quality of the search results I’m getting while doing research.”
-
Librarian in the Middle
“DoubleTrust lets user bias results from Google to Yahoo, then shows which results are in both, then which are only in one and then the other. Fast, legible.”
-
Threadwatch
“If you like Search toys, it’s kinda fun.”
-
Le Journal du Net
“Conçu par un étudiant américain, le moteur de recherche Doubletrust.net présente les meilleurs résultats fournis par Google et Yahoo.”
-
PC INpact
“Depuis, DoubleTrust a fait son apparition, un site au sémillant adage “two is better than one”.”
-
Memoclic
“DoubleTrust nous offre un service original : il recherche dans les 2 moteurs en même temps.”
-
Wiener Zeitung
-
Yahoo Mania
“DoubleTrust es un proyecto en fase alfa de un estudiante el cual nos junta los resultados producidos por los dos buscadores.”
Outlet names link to full-page captures of each article, saved here because the originals are gone. The original address and the Internet Archive copy are listed as backups.