Google has released a government search. From the article in the Washington Post, you’d think this was a new product, but it’s not, really.
Google has always had the capacity to search just .gov or .mil domains. In fact, it’s quite useful for searching agency websites when the agency’s internal search doesn’t turn up what you’re looking for. So, for example, if you’re looking for info on switchgrass as an alternative fuel source, you can pop that into Google and get a ton of hits. You might alternatively type “switchgrass as an alternative fuel source site:.gov†to find all the government sites on that topic. Or even better, try “switchgrass as an alternative fuel source site:doe.gov†to get all the sources on the Department of Energy website. You can do a lot of refining this way.
In fact, Google has had a government version in its Google Labs for years. The UncleSam search covers .gov, .mil and some .us sites. In fact, the folks at ResourceShelf say this new version is pretty much the same as the old Uncle Sam. The only difference is the new ability to customize the homepage with news feeds.
I like Google, but just because it's the biggest name in the game certainly doesn't make it the best tool for searching. Maybe it'll be fine for citizens looking for IRS forms, but I don't think it's a step forward for government employees, whom the Post article characterizes as the targets for this "new" service.
Give Google's new service a spin, and let us know if it's better than what you currently use.
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