30 + 5 points
Request Search Engine Data by Cthulhu Kitty
January 22nd, 2007 2:10 PM- You may not have much luck unless you can put together a subpoena, and are the government
- You might try asking Jeeves, who, in what must have been a blow to his self-esteem, wasn't asked for similar information.
- We wonder what format the data was provided in. If it looks like you'll be successful, why not demand that MSN provide the search data in OpenDocument format?
- Come to think of it, we'd rather you not upload huge database dumps to SF0. So just post your request, any response you receive, and - if you're successful - some graphical representation of some subset of the data.
- If you don't get a response from the search engines, but really have your heart set on a massive data set, try asking AT&T for random phone call origins/destinations (by city/state/country) and lengths, or eBay for the content (no user info) of one million random pieces of feedback.
You would think this wouldn't be that big a deal - after all, it's not like we're asking for anything that might violate privacy concerns. But no! I emailed every search engine I could find using google and typing in "search engines." Here are some of the responses I've received:
Subject
Your message to Ask.com regarding Questions about search results
Discussion Thread
Response (S.E.E.B.) 01/22/2007 04:52 PM
Hello Kathleen,
Thank you for your interest in Ask.com. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide the data you requested. Our policies with regard to data production requests are pretty limited, and specific to law enforcement i.e., (i) an order from a court of competent jurisdiction mandating the production of specific data; or (ii) a request from a valid law enforcement agency detailing an imminent threat to the public's health, safety, welfare without reasonable time to seek a court order along with a representation from such agency that the court order will be obtained at the earliest reasonable opportunity).
As mentioned in Ask's Privacy Policy ("In what other situations may we disclose your information?")
http://about.ask.com/en/docs/about/privacy.shtml
We regret any inconvenience this may cause and wish you luck with your work. Please let us know if we may be of any assistance in the future.
Customer 01/19/2007 06:56 AM
The following customer:
Name : Kat
Email Address :
URL :
Sends this message:
Hello,
I would like to request some information from you. I have been tasked with duplicating a recent Department of Justice query which asked various search engine web sites for a weeks worth of searches and 1 million random web sites. I do not wish to see any information that may be considered a privacy violation - in fact I don't need anything to do with the users themselves, just the results of searches. Please let me know what you would need from me in order to achieve this goal. Thanks!
---------------------------------
Hello,
We do not currently offer any options to obtain an export of search data. The
only available services we provide can be accessed from our website.
Thank you,
Infospace Support
----------------------------------
ETC, ETC. So far, I have gotten only one remotely postive response, that being from Ebay, which enthusiastically informed me that I could get that kind of info for one low payment of $2.99. Apparently, you can subscribe to something called Marketplace Research:
What is Marketplace Research?
Marketplace Research enables buyers and sellers to gather critical intelligence on buying and selling trends in the eBay marketplace. View and analyze top searches, average start prices, average sold prices and much more. This easy-to-use product makes getting to the data you need quick and efficient.
What can Marketplace Research do for me?
For Buyers - Track items you're interested in purchasing and view the average sold prices for those items.
For Sellers - Access up to 90 days of eBay historical completed items data. Understand the demand for items you're planning to sell with charts trending average bids per item, number of completed items and more. View top searches within a category or the entire site to see what buyers are searching for.
SO, I guess if I want to be successful in my quest for data, that I will have to pay for it.
It was interesting to learn that although all the search engine companies refused my request due to privacy concerns, that Ebay not only had no ethical issues, but was quite willing to provide me with the data - for a small fee. I guess it's true what they say - you CAN buy anything on EBAY.
Subject
Your message to Ask.com regarding Questions about search results
Discussion Thread
Response (S.E.E.B.) 01/22/2007 04:52 PM
Hello Kathleen,
Thank you for your interest in Ask.com. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide the data you requested. Our policies with regard to data production requests are pretty limited, and specific to law enforcement i.e., (i) an order from a court of competent jurisdiction mandating the production of specific data; or (ii) a request from a valid law enforcement agency detailing an imminent threat to the public's health, safety, welfare without reasonable time to seek a court order along with a representation from such agency that the court order will be obtained at the earliest reasonable opportunity).
As mentioned in Ask's Privacy Policy ("In what other situations may we disclose your information?")
http://about.ask.com/en/docs/about/privacy.shtml
We regret any inconvenience this may cause and wish you luck with your work. Please let us know if we may be of any assistance in the future.
Customer 01/19/2007 06:56 AM
The following customer:
Name : Kat
Email Address :
URL :
Sends this message:
Hello,
I would like to request some information from you. I have been tasked with duplicating a recent Department of Justice query which asked various search engine web sites for a weeks worth of searches and 1 million random web sites. I do not wish to see any information that may be considered a privacy violation - in fact I don't need anything to do with the users themselves, just the results of searches. Please let me know what you would need from me in order to achieve this goal. Thanks!
---------------------------------
Hello,
We do not currently offer any options to obtain an export of search data. The
only available services we provide can be accessed from our website.
Thank you,
Infospace Support
----------------------------------
ETC, ETC. So far, I have gotten only one remotely postive response, that being from Ebay, which enthusiastically informed me that I could get that kind of info for one low payment of $2.99. Apparently, you can subscribe to something called Marketplace Research:
What is Marketplace Research?
Marketplace Research enables buyers and sellers to gather critical intelligence on buying and selling trends in the eBay marketplace. View and analyze top searches, average start prices, average sold prices and much more. This easy-to-use product makes getting to the data you need quick and efficient.
What can Marketplace Research do for me?
For Buyers - Track items you're interested in purchasing and view the average sold prices for those items.
For Sellers - Access up to 90 days of eBay historical completed items data. Understand the demand for items you're planning to sell with charts trending average bids per item, number of completed items and more. View top searches within a category or the entire site to see what buyers are searching for.
SO, I guess if I want to be successful in my quest for data, that I will have to pay for it.
It was interesting to learn that although all the search engine companies refused my request due to privacy concerns, that Ebay not only had no ethical issues, but was quite willing to provide me with the data - for a small fee. I guess it's true what they say - you CAN buy anything on EBAY.
