There's no doubt that Google is the 80,000 lb. gorilla in search -
so what's the strategy for building momentum in the search category? You
could throw money at it - for example, Mark Cuban has decided to back IceRocket,
which started out as a conventional search engine, but has now moved to
blog search (which is also fast becoming a crowded space). You could be
innovative, like Snap! from Bill
Gross and IdeaLabs. They pioneered Snap Previews, which is a great
viral tool that most bloggers have installed on their sites. They have
also pioneered pay-per-action (PPA) advertising, which Google has
promptly copied. Then there's people search sites, like pipl and xing, who presumably offer more refined results than a standard Google search.
However, I'm not sure that creating more niche search engines
actually helps us find anything any faster. Think of how you use search
when you are doing research on a topic you know little about: First,
you probably start with a one-word search. Then, you spend a ton of
time reading the pages, then, you type in 2 words for a search. You do
this over and over again, until you have a group of specific search
terms that give you the results you want.
How much faster would the search be if you were "guided" through the process? For instance, check out Grokker, Kartoo and Quintura,
which help you pick more specific search terms through a graphical
interface. I'm not sure that either company has nailed the UI yet, but
they certainly help you find what you want much faster when you're not
exactly sure what you're looking for.
Patrick, you're in my house now... Not only can Google work well for most people just by using more keywords, they have something called Custom Search Engine http://google.com/coop/cse/ that will create vertical search engines on the fly, based on indexing websites a 'crowd' can validate beforehand. Check on it out.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with Google being the big gorilla that it is now. I use their custom homepage at home and work, I've used Blogger software and I use Gmail on a regular basis. Google Maps has become almost the go-to place for web developers with the open API that MapQuest never released and they keep adding new ideas and services. I'm not a fanatic, I just enjoy what they've done thus far and will continue to use them. I've tried other services, but Google as a whole seems to work, so why fix what's not broken.
ReplyDeleteIt is Hard (difficult) to get on Top ... even Harder to Stay on Top. Entrepreneurial/Business History is full of Case Studies.
ReplyDeleteSo, the real question is how does Google UnSeat Itself?
That is a Huge Challenge for any Successful Organization, meteoric or pedestrian.
Stay Tuned, as we watch History amaking around us.