About the IU-ChaCha partnership

On August 2, 2007, Indiana University announced a strategic alliance with ChaCha, bringing together complementary strengths in the development of technologies designed to meet the evolving needs of search in the scholarly community. The partnership provides a framework to cultivate and promote joint research, development, and services over time.

IU currently manages a complex blend of online information, including data about the university, research findings, library resources, and instructional content for the university community. While comprehensive, the sheer volume of information can make it challenging to find relevant information quickly. ChaCha's search tools improve upon Internet search by adding human intelligence to deliver search results. When an expert human guide helps with a search, that assistance is added to the search system, building a base of knowledge from which others can draw. As more inquiries are processed, the human-powered search capabilities are continually strengthened. In 2008, ChaCha replaced its web search engine with an SMS text Answers service, extending the reach of its guide network considerably.

A web search pilot project went live in fall 2007, with searches provided through UITS and the IU Bloomington and IUPUI Libraries facilitated by ChaCha's search platform. As ChaCha's search evolved into the mobile Answers service, the web search pilot was discontinued. An IU version of the ChaCha Answers service is currently in development.

For more, see the IU-ChaCha Alliance page.