Still Searching for More Search Users

By Mark Evans in Search Engines No Comments

Blekko
Amid the growing interest in Microsoft’s new search engine, Bing, and TechCrunch’s enthusiasm about stealth start-up, Blekko, it seems like the right time to take a look at how some of the much-hyped search engine start-ups over the past year have done.

All in all, it’s been disappointing. The chart below – sourced from Compete.com – show that SearchMe and Mahalo have about 2.8 million unique U.S. visitors a month, while Cuil is struggling with 126,720 and Wiki Search is barely alive with 80.955. Meanwhile, Wolfram Alpha – the latest overly-hyped search engine – hasn’t been live long enough for Compete to gather enough data.

Of the group below, it is interesting to see that SearchMe has shown good traction since November, while Mahalo seems to be holding its own. Cuil, meanwhile, has to rank as one of the most over-hyped and least successful search start-ups, while Wolfram Alpha has potential to be a Cuil, although the it’s still early days.

Without a doubt, launching a search engine is a perilous exercise, not only because you’re going head to head with Google. The benchmark for new players is very high, and there’s significant potential for disappointment if the service works well but not in a much better or different way than Google.

Still, there are entrepreneurs who believe there’s a different and/or search engine to be developed keeping. And they seem to be able to raise financing from VCs who believe that a viable alternative to Google can emerge, if not a Google-killer.

Clearly, part of the challenge is managing expectations, and trying to figure out the right balance between attracting enough attention from the media, bloggers and users, while staying fairly low profile. TechCrunch provides some insight into what Blekko is trying to do, even though talking with TechCrunch could blow Blekko super-stealth approach.

(For more Blekko, check out Screenwerk, which believes Blekko “will quickly “imprint” on its intended audience and that they will embrace the search engine in earnest”. The photo is from Blekko’s home page.)

So far, I like how Microsoft is approaching the market with Bing. While it’s impossible tell from a three minute video about how a new service will actually perform, Bing appears to be different enough from Google that consumers will give it a shot. It’s impossible to tell whether Blekko has potential but it’s definitely intriguing.

Update: I think Seth Godin is making a mistake in dismissing Bing as “trying to be next next Google”.

Technorati Tags: , , , ,

Is Google Afraid of Bing?

By Mark Evans in Microsoft, Search Engines 5 Comments

Bing
Perhaps this is a thought coming from left-field but is there a possibility that Google is afraid of Microsoft’s new search engine, Bing?

This thesis is based on a few developments:

1. On the day Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was apparently scheduled to unveil Bing at the All Things D conference, Google unleashed its eye-catching Wave, a new real-time communications platform that will be unveiled later this year. (See TechCrunch for details on what Google did last Thursday.)

When it comes to new product announcements, there’s usually an unofficial code of conduct in which companies respect each other’s launch days – similar to guys agreeing to not mow each other’s lawns when socializing with the fairer sex. So Google’s decision to break the code is eye-catching.

2. There seems to be people impressed with Bing. Apple founder Steve Wozniak, for example, had some glowing things to say about Bing after seeing the demo at All Things Do.

“I don’t normally come to these business presentations and all that, but I thought it was one of the most astounding software demos I’ve ever seen,” Wozniak said. “It was so well thought out, the algorithms, the intelligence of it, really impressed me.”

If you’re Wozniak, there’s an element of risk by publicly praising a new search engine taking on Google. If Bing falls flat on its face, Wozniak’s words could come back to haunt him.

Then again, maybe Wozniak is on to something. Maybe Bing is pretty good.

If Bing starts to attract accolades from a growing number high-profile users, it could – and I stress could – give Bing’s some much-needed momentum that would never get from an expensive advertising campaign.

In search, success depends on two things: a service that works as well if not better than Google, and people excited about using it. It’s the formula that propelled Google, and allowed it to quickly leap over Excite, HotBot, Lycos, et al for supremacy in the search engine wars.

If Bing can catch catch lighting in a bottle, the phrase Ba da bing could take on a whole new meaning.

Technorati Tags: , , , ,

Another Canadian Copyright Screw-Up

By Mark Evans in Main Page 2 Comments

Apparently, Canada’s copyright laws needs need to be overhauled because, after all, we’re a haven for digital pirate – at least that’s how the copyright-crazed Americans like to describe us.

Last year, the federal government started to introduce legislative reforms that would have brought Canadian copyright laws a lot closer to those in the U.S. This plan was skewered by a huge roar of protest, led by Michael Geist’s Facebook group, which attracted more than 90,000 members. Eventually, the PCs saw the light and backed down.

The latest sad chapter in Canada’s copyright reform were three reports released recently by the Conference Board of Canada. Unfortunately, they were badly flawed pieces of work. Geist exposed the reports as:

“deceptive, plagiarized report on the digital economy that copied text from the International Intellectual Property Alliance (the primary movie, music, and software lobby in the U.S.), at times without full attribution. The report itself was funded by copyright lobby groups (U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Network, Copyright Collective of Canada which represents U.S. film production) along with the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation.”

The Copyright Board responded by suggesting Geist’s scathing criticism was inaccurate.

But in a stunning reversal, the Conference Board has now recalled the three reports – Intellectual Property Rights in the Digital Economy; National Innovation Performance and Intellectual Property Rights: A Comparative Analysis; and Intellectual Property Rights—Creating Value and Stimulating Investment.

After an internal review, it “determined that these reports did not follow the high quality research standards of The Conference Board of Canada”.

Translation: The Conference Board hired some contractors to do the reports, and they f@#$#@ked up. So, they’ve been forced to pull the reports rather than continue to insist everything is fine.

What this public relations disaster demonstrates is Canada’s needs a vibrant, inclusive, comprehensive and impartial review of our copyright laws. We need a process that looks at how Canada can have legislation and policies that protect the rights of content owners, while providing enough flexibility, scope and room to support and jump-start innovation.

To encourage a proper discussion of copyright reform, mesh is offering to host a debate on this issue. We’re asking the Conference Board to send two of the report’s authors to join in that debate – one to take the affirmative side of each of those two propositions.

Representing the “No” side of these propositions will be Dr. Geist, and Mike Masnick, the founder of Floor64 and the Techdirt blog. Both are long-standing friends of mesh and well respected for their valuable contributions to public discussion of these issues.

More information on our proposal, can be found on the mesh blog. As well, check out Rob Hyndman’s blog post on the reports, which he describes as “intellectual dishonesty”.

Technorati Tags: , , ,

The News is Here, Here and Here

By Mark Evans in Media 1 Comment

News
An important part of what I do for living and how I pursue personal interests is consuming lots of information – be it the news, interesting trends, companies and services, and resources offering data, insight and perspective.

Given the news is coming from anywhere and everywhere, it can be a challenge trying to determine where to go to get the broadest perspective possible in the most efficient way. Here’s how I do it:

1. Twitter: Over the past few months, Twitter has become the place to find out what’s happening and what’s interesting. It’s a rich information resource fueled by a team of more than 200 “reporters” (aka people that I follow), who are scouring the Web on my behalf (and the behalf of others). When I’m looking at Twitter via my iPhone, I’m constantly tapping on “Favorites” to save links for later.

2. Google Alerts: Having the news come to you is huge. With Google Alerts, you can create keyword searches, and have content delivered as it happens or once a day from the Web and/or blogs.

3. Socialmedian: A daily e-mail provides a quick snapshot of stories and blog posts for topics that I’ve pre-configured.

4. Hacker News: A rich resource of not only high-tech news but a variety of fascinating stories on other topics submitted by users. Hacker News provides a nice one-two punch alongside the New York Times on Sunday if you’re into spending a few hours consuming great content.

5. Google Reader While I’m not as enthusiastic about Google Reader these days, it’s still a valuable resource that probably deserves more love and attention.

6. SmartBrief on Social Media – an e-mail service provided by SmartBrief – that provides an information and valuable snapshot of what’s happening within the social media landscape.

7. Tweetmeme: Probably the easiest way to quickly see what’s attracting the most attention on the TwitterSphere.

8. Techmeme – The king of news aggregation within the high-world, Techmeme continues to maintain its status as the destination to see what’s happening.

So, where do you get the news? Any tools or really good Web sites to recommend? Do have a better and more efficient way to consume news?

Technorati Tags: , , ,

Twitter: Masters of the Media Spotlight

By Mark Evans in Media, Social Media 3 Comments

If you’re at all interested in Twitter, Danny Sullivan’s blog post and video clips of an interview done with Biz Stone are a must-read and must-watch.

While there’s room for plenty of commentary about Stone’s views on real-time search, SMS and advertising, what struck me is how Twitter has done such an impressive job of keeping itself in the news (mainstream media and blogosphere) over the past few months.

Wherever you turn, Stone, Evan Williams or Jack Dorsey are talking about Twitter and how the company’s plans to evolve strategically. There’s an enormous appetite for information about Twitter, and the three amigos are happy to talk..and talk…and talk.

In a sense, they are doing a masterful job of manipulating the media – and I don’t mean that in an evil way. What Stone, Williams and Dorsey are doing is feeding the fire that’s raging, and keeping the embers red-hot as the company continues to grow and determine just how it’s going to make money.

This can be a tricky balancing act because every story eventually loses steam. You can only listen to someone talk or so long before your mind starts wandering to the next sexy story. Yet, the Twitter story shows no signs of losing its media/blogger momentum.

Some of it may have to do with the fact Twitter continues to be a fascinating phenomena, not just the ultra-growth but how it has become the new e-mail and spawned hundreds, if not thousands, of third-party applications to feed the proverbial fires.

Second, Stone, Williams and Dorsey come across as regular guys – confident, enthusiastic and excited but not cocky or arrogant. They’re telling a good story in a compelling way.

What’s interesting is despite how much talking the Twitter Boys are doing, they’re talking to the media and bloggers rather than appearing at many conferences. Clearly, they would be an amazing draw for any conference so it’s interesting they have taken a selective approach. (Disclaimer: We’ve invited them to the mesh conference but were very politely turned down).

More: Speaking of Twitter keeping itself in the spotlight, Variety has a story on Twitter creating a TV series.

Technorati Tags: ,

Interesting Concept: Paying for Web Services

By Mark Evans in Software, Web 2.0 1 Comment

TechCrunch’s M.G. Siegler had an interesting post looking at the online Web service that he pays to use (Pandora, Tweetie, Flickr), and those he’d pay to use if needed (Twitter, Facebook, Friendfeed, GMail, Digg, YouTube and Instapaper).

What a novel concept; actually paying for online tools that you find useful and valuable. At a time when the economic landscape for online services is arguably broken, you have to wonder how long it will be before the something gives.

At some point, people may start to be willing to pay for services they use on a regular basis to more them more productive, efficient and more profitable. It this such a wild concept; the idea of paying for value?

In any event, here’s a list of the services that I pay to use:

Fused Network – great hosting services.

Performancing Metrics – blog statistics

Freshbooks – kick-ass invoicing

And here’s what I’d happy pay to use:

- Read it Later: To have a place that stores all the stories and blogs for consumption later, I’d pay $5 to $10/month.

- Twitter: It has become a valuable communications, resource and content tool that provides tremendous value. I’d happy pay $5/month for a reliable service that includes some bells and whistles such as analytics, a central place to read all the items I’ve made a favorite, and some filtering tools.

- WordPress: I have three blogs running on WordPress, and would pay a few bucks for premium customer service, analytics and access to themes and a developer database

- iDesktop.tv: I’d easily pay $10 to $20/year for a service that provides access to thousands of videos, including the ability to download them, which makes it an essential tool when putting together presentation

- GMail: For more storage, I’d pay $10 to $20 for GMail. That said, I’ve soured on GMail a bit because some of my mark@markevans.ca e-mails are ending up in peoples’ spam boxes – I think because there’s a conflict when spam filter also see gmail.com

- PrintFriendly: To save some paper and the environment, I’d pay $5/year.

So what do you pay to use, and, as important, what would you pay to use?

Technorati Tags: , ,

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
1 2 3 4 5