<s>
Ask.com	B-Application
(	O
originally	O
known	O
as	O
Ask	B-Application
Jeeves	I-Application
)	O
is	O
a	O
question	B-Algorithm
answering	I-Algorithm
–	O
focused	O
e-business	B-Application
founded	O
in	O
1996	O
by	O
Garrett	O
Gruener	O
and	O
David	O
Warthen	O
in	O
Berkeley	O
,	O
California	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Warthen	O
,	O
Chevsky	O
,	O
Justin	O
Grant	O
,	O
and	O
others	O
built	O
the	O
early	O
AskJeeves.com	O
website	O
around	O
that	O
core	O
engine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2006	O
,	O
the	O
"	O
Jeeves	O
"	O
name	O
was	O
dropped	O
and	O
they	O
refocused	O
on	O
the	O
search	B-Application
engine	I-Application
,	O
which	O
had	O
its	O
own	O
algorithm	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
2010	O
,	O
facing	O
insurmountable	O
competition	O
from	O
more	O
popular	O
search	B-Application
engines	I-Application
like	O
Google	B-Application
,	O
the	O
company	O
outsourced	O
its	O
web	B-Application
search	I-Application
technology	O
and	O
returned	O
to	O
its	O
roots	O
as	O
a	O
question	O
and	O
answer	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ask.com	B-Application
is	O
currently	O
owned	O
by	O
InterActiveCorp	O
(	O
IAC	O
)	O
under	O
the	O
NASDAQ	O
symbol	O
,	O
and	O
its	O
corporate	O
headquarters	O
are	O
located	O
at	O
555	O
City	O
Center	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
Oakland	O
City	O
Center	O
development	O
in	O
downtown	O
Oakland	O
,	O
California	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ask.com	B-Application
was	O
originally	O
known	O
as	O
Ask	B-Application
Jeeves	I-Application
,	O
"	O
Jeeves	O
"	O
being	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
a	O
"	O
gentleman	O
's	O
personal	O
gentleman	O
"	O
,	O
or	O
valet	O
,	O
fetching	O
answers	O
to	O
any	O
question	O
asked	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
idea	O
behind	O
Ask	B-Application
Jeeves	I-Application
was	O
to	O
allow	O
users	O
to	O
get	O
answers	O
to	O
questions	O
in	O
everyday	O
,	O
natural	O
language	O
,	O
and	O
traditional	O
keyword	O
searching	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
current	O
Ask.com	B-Application
still	O
supports	O
this	O
for	O
math	O
,	O
dictionary	O
,	O
and	O
conversion	O
questions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ask	B-Application
Jeeves	I-Application
launched	O
in	O
beta	O
in	O
mid-April	O
1997	O
and	O
fully	O
launched	O
on	O
June	O
1	O
,	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
September	O
18	O
,	O
2001	O
,	O
Ask	B-Application
Jeeves	I-Application
acquired	O
Teoma	B-Application
for	O
over	O
$1.5	O
million	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2005	O
,	O
Ask	B-Application
Jeeves	I-Application
was	O
acquired	O
by	O
IAC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2006	O
,	O
Jeeves	O
was	O
removed	O
from	O
Ask	B-Application
Jeeves	I-Application
and	O
the	O
search	B-Application
engine	I-Application
rebranded	O
to	O
Ask	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
May	O
16	O
,	O
2006	O
,	O
Ask	O
implemented	O
a	O
"	O
Binoculars	O
Site	O
Preview	O
"	O
into	O
its	O
search	B-Application
results	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
search	B-Application
results	I-Application
pages	O
,	O
the	O
"	O
binoculars	O
"	O
let	O
searchers	O
have	O
a	O
preview	O
of	O
the	O
page	O
they	O
could	O
visit	O
with	O
a	O
mouse-over	O
activating	O
a	O
pop-up	O
screenshot	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
5	O
,	O
2007	O
,	O
Ask.com	B-Application
relaunched	O
with	O
a	O
3D	O
look	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2007	O
,	O
Ask	O
released	O
the	O
AskEraser	O
feature	O
,	O
allowing	O
users	O
to	O
opt-out	O
from	O
tracking	O
of	O
search	O
queries	O
and	O
IP	B-Protocol
and	O
cookie	B-Application
values	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
HTTP	B-Application
cookies	I-Application
must	O
be	O
enabled	O
for	O
AskEraser	O
to	O
function	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2008	O
,	O
Ask	O
launched	O
the	O
Ask	B-Application
Kids	I-Application
search	B-Application
engine	I-Application
designed	O
for	O
children	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2009	O
,	O
Jeeves	O
returned	O
to	O
the	O
UK	O
version	O
of	O
Ask.com,	O
redesigned	O
as	O
a	O
CGI	O
character	O
and	O
the	O
website	O
was	O
once	O
again	O
named	O
Ask	B-Application
Jeeves	I-Application
,	O
though	O
international	O
versions	O
were	O
still	O
just	O
Ask.com	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
His	O
image	O
remained	O
on	O
the	O
UK	O
website	O
until	O
July	O
21	O
,	O
2016	O
,	O
though	O
the	O
Ask	B-Application
Jeeves	I-Application
name	O
would	O
continue	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
until	O
September	O
21	O
,	O
2016	O
,	O
when	O
the	O
website	O
rebranded	O
to	O
just	O
Ask	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
July	O
26	O
,	O
2010	O
,	O
Ask.com	B-Application
released	O
a	O
closed-beta	O
Q&A	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ask.com	B-Application
launched	O
its	O
mobile	O
Q&A	O
app	O
for	O
the	O
iPhone	O
in	O
late	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ask.com	B-Application
reached	O
100	O
million	O
global	O
users	O
per	O
month	O
in	O
2012	O
through	O
its	O
website	O
with	O
more	O
than	O
2	O
million	O
downloads	O
of	O
its	O
flagship	O
mobile	O
app	O
in	O
that	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2010	O
,	O
Ask.com	B-Application
abandoned	O
the	O
search	O
industry	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
loss	O
of	O
130	O
search	O
engineering	O
jobs	O
,	O
because	O
it	O
could	O
not	O
compete	O
against	O
more	O
popular	O
search	B-Application
engines	I-Application
such	O
as	O
Google	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
To	O
avoid	O
a	O
situation	O
in	O
which	O
no	O
answers	O
were	O
available	O
from	O
its	O
own	O
resources	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
outsourced	O
to	O
an	O
unnamed	O
third-party	O
search	O
provider	O
the	O
comprehensive	O
web	B-Application
search	I-Application
matches	O
that	O
it	O
had	O
gathered	O
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Formerly	O
the	O
direct-sales	O
engine	O
for	O
Ask.com,	O
Ask	O
Sponsored	O
Listings	O
is	O
no	O
longer	O
available	O
,	O
having	O
merged	O
with	O
Sendori	O
,	O
an	O
operating	O
business	O
of	O
IAC	O
,	O
in	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ask	B-Application
Jeeves	I-Application
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
stock	O
traded	O
on	O
the	O
NASDAQ	O
stock	O
exchange	O
from	O
July	O
1999	O
to	O
July	O
2005	O
,	O
under	O
the	O
ticker	O
symbol	O
ASKJ	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2012	O
,	O
Ask.com	B-Application
made	O
two	O
acquisitions	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
larger	O
strategy	O
to	O
offer	O
more	O
content	O
on	O
the	O
Ask.com	B-Application
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
July	O
2	O
,	O
2012	O
,	O
Ask.com	B-Application
purchased	O
content	O
discovery	O
start-up	O
nRelate	O
for	O
an	O
undisclosed	O
amount	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
August	O
14	O
,	O
2014	O
,	O
Ask.com	B-Application
acquired	O
popular	O
social	O
networking	O
website	O
ASKfm	O
,	O
where	O
users	O
can	O
ask	O
other	O
users	O
questions	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
option	O
of	O
anonymity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apostolos	O
Gerasoulis	O
,	O
the	O
co-creator	O
of	O
Ask	O
's	O
Teoma	B-Application
algorithmic	O
search	O
technology	O
,	O
starred	O
in	O
four	O
television	O
advertisements	O
in	O
2007	O
,	O
extolling	O
the	O
virtues	O
of	O
com	O
's	O
usefulness	O
for	O
information	O
relevance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
Seattle-based	O
local	O
market	O
effort	O
,	O
Ask.com	B-Application
launched	O
its	O
"	O
You	O
Asked	O
We	O
Answered	O
"	O
campaign	O
in	O
2012	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
company	O
"	O
answered	O
"	O
residents	O
 '	O
top	O
complaints	O
about	O
living	O
in	O
their	O
city	O
,	O
including	O
easing	O
morning	O
commutes	O
and	O
stadium	O
traffic	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
keeping	O
the	O
local	O
Parks	O
and	O
Rec	O
department	O
wading	O
pools	O
open	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
January	O
14	O
,	O
2009	O
,	O
Ask.com	B-Application
became	O
the	O
official	O
sponsor	O
of	O
2000	O
NASCAR	O
Sprint	O
Cup	O
Series	O
Champion	O
Bobby	O
Labonte	O
's	O
No.96	O
Ford	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ask	O
would	O
become	O
the	O
official	O
search	B-Application
engine	I-Application
of	O
NASCAR	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ask.com	B-Application
was	O
the	O
primary	O
sponsor	O
for	O
the	O
No.96	O
for	O
18	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
21	O
races	O
and	O
had	O
rights	O
to	O
increase	O
this	O
to	O
a	O
total	O
of	O
29	O
races	O
that	O
season	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Ask.com	B-Application
car	O
debuted	O
in	O
the	O
2009	O
Bud	O
Shootout	O
where	O
it	O
failed	O
to	O
finish	O
the	O
race	O
,	O
but	O
subsequently	O
returned	O
strongly	O
,	O
placing	O
as	O
high	O
as	O
5th	O
in	O
a	O
March	O
1	O
,	O
2009	O
,	O
Shelby	O
427	O
race	O
at	O
Las	O
Vegas	O
Motor	O
Speedway	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
com	O
's	O
foray	O
into	O
NASCAR	O
represented	O
the	O
first	O
instance	O
of	O
its	O
venture	O
into	O
what	O
it	O
calls	O
"	O
Super	B-Application
Verticals	I-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
