SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The Anomalies Network has unveiled the UFOCrawler, one of the first of a new breed of search engines specifically tuned to search for information about the paranormal and unexplained.
UFOCrawler [1] was developed to make it easier to conduct advanced research and tap information and knowledge sources worldwide to form educated opinions about topics such as UFO Sightings, time travel, conspiracy theories and anomalies.
Powered by IBM OmniFind Yahoo! Edition enterprise search software, UFOCrawler helps users precisely target and gather information from relevant sources, including thousands of documents and files collected in the vast Anomalies Network archive, as well as multiple global resources across the Web on topics such as such as ghosts, conspiracy theories and extraterrestrials. Previously, using a conventional Web search engine, a search on a term such as Area 51, for example — would return thousands of irrelevant and inaccurate results.
UFOCrawler helps users more clearly define and target their search to a particular topic, for instance to search for information about an aurora sighted over Area 51. UFOCrawler is tuned to search for and deliver the specific information requested or refine an area of interest.
"Only through raw information can people form their own opinions about what is happening out there," said Olav Phillips, founder, The Anomalies Network [2]. "The questions about the paranormal are some of the most fundamental questions of humanity. People can't draw conclusions, make a decision or form an opinion based on a single sighting or event. UFOCrawler is designed to give users a more holistic view of all the information sources they need to decide for themselves."
In addition to launching UFOCrawler, The Anomalies Network is also introducing numerous site enhancements to enable better collaboration among users as well as major performance enhancements to the site.
The site enhancements include all new content and features to enable more users to contribute, collaborate and dynamically share information based on their interests. A new user-driven search and RSS subscriptions as well as account access also enable users to customize and view only information of interest to them. The site is also undergoing major performance improvements including the deployment of the NetliOne Platform for global site caching powered by Netli, as well as further network improvements at their state-of-the-art datacenter hosted by Silicon Valley Web Hosting.
In existence for more than 10 years, The Anomalies Network is the world's largest online UFO and paranormal community with over a million pageviews per month. The site is designed to serve as a super archive to make the location of related information easier. Built almost entirely on open source software, The Anomalies Network uses the CentOS Linux distribution, Apache, Tomcat, MySQL and PHP in addition to IBM OmniFind Yahoo! Edition.
IBM OmniFind Yahoo! Edition [3] is a no-cost, entry level enterprise search product with Web search services powered by Yahoo! that enables departments and businesses of all sizes to quickly and easily find, access and capitalize on information stored within organizations and across the Web.