At the beginning of this year, Mahalo commanded 0.02% of all US search engine traffic, compared with Google’s 55.52%. Having any search engine, people powered or not, compete with Google would be an amazing feat – neither Mahalo nor ChaCha currently come close, and it doesn't look like they ever will. That being said, people powered search engines will definitely appeal for certain specific types of use -- when more streamlined, relevant information is immediately required.
No. Google is so well established, that I do not think any new-comers could supplant them -- unless Google makes a huge blunder. Which I doubt they will.
A recent study shows that Google continues to gain market share in search, but more than 60% of users--more than ever--distrust the results. This is a great opportunity for Mahalo. If Mahalo can convince the average Internet user that its curated, hand-built results are superior to Google's, it can definitely be a serious threat to The Big G.
But that, of course, is a very big "if." Right now, Mahalo is not so much a serach engine, but rather a small, passionate, Digg-like community. Furthermore, the entire SEO industry is built around Google, and thus there are powerful financial interests dedicated to maintaining the status quo. And, finally, Mahalo does not exist in a vacuum; the basic concepts behind Mahalo could be easily implemented by Google.
Thus, Mahalo has a lot running against it. The key question, then, is whether Mahalo can expand like Facebook, or Flickr, or any other Internet phenomenon. It will be several years before we know the answer, but considering the fact that it is a wonderful product, I'd say it has a fighting chance against Google.
I do think Google will have to make some changes though, to keep up with the times. As we move into Web 3, we're in the semantic Web era. The company will have to do more with data portability, beyond the confines of Google, as well as more with connectivity. Google is not a semantic Web search engine, in fact the only ones I can think of are hakia and powerset. As far as search engines are concerned, Google still relies on a keyword system. Search is going to have to become more relative to the actual query as we move into Web 3. So although I don't think Mahalo or ChaCha are on a path at replacing Google, both of them, as well as Powerset and hakia, may have an influence on what Google becomes in the future.
They won't anytime soon, but I think it would be foolish to assume that no one will ever top Google. Perhaps traffic and business for these engines are small now, and it could take some time, but someday someone will come along and give Google a run for their money.
I agree with Emerson and have to admit that I had never considered one of the most powerful forces working against Maholo and others. The fact that Google, with its resources and revenue could very easily integrate this people-generated method into their search engine or start another engine, perhaps named Goggle. Why couldn't they? If so many people are unhappy with the Google SE results, isn't it in their best interest?
I'm more interested in the future of Boopsie and it's mobile search technology that is 100 times faster than Google and completely accurate. Now, that's a serious threat.
@Emerson Churchill - Sometimes I want search results that are based on more than link popularity and sites that have really good SEO. Sometimes I want the best possible result to what I'm searching for, or the best possible answer. And no, Ask.com doesn't provide this. There is a place for Mahalo or ChaCha to step in here. But then, much of Google's power, though they dominate market share for search, is also based on market share for online advertising and market share for online video. These sites can be companion players somehow, or as I said before, influence the next rev of Google.
10 Total
June 16, 2008 at 11:08am by Saabira Chaudhuri
At the beginning of this year, Mahalo commanded 0.02% of all US search engine traffic, compared with Google’s 55.52%. Having any search engine, people powered or not, compete with Google would be an amazing feat – neither Mahalo nor ChaCha currently come close, and it doesn't look like they ever will. That being said, people powered search engines will definitely appeal for certain specific types of use -- when more streamlined, relevant information is immediately required.
June 16, 2008 at 11:15am by Kevin Ohannessian
No. Google is so well established, that I do not think any new-comers could supplant them -- unless Google makes a huge blunder. Which I doubt they will.
June 16, 2008 at 12:10pm by Emerson Churchill
A recent study shows that Google continues to gain market share in search, but more than 60% of users--more than ever--distrust the results. This is a great opportunity for Mahalo. If Mahalo can convince the average Internet user that its curated, hand-built results are superior to Google's, it can definitely be a serious threat to The Big G.
But that, of course, is a very big "if." Right now, Mahalo is not so much a serach engine, but rather a small, passionate, Digg-like community. Furthermore, the entire SEO industry is built around Google, and thus there are powerful financial interests dedicated to maintaining the status quo. And, finally, Mahalo does not exist in a vacuum; the basic concepts behind Mahalo could be easily implemented by Google.
Thus, Mahalo has a lot running against it. The key question, then, is whether Mahalo can expand like Facebook, or Flickr, or any other Internet phenomenon. It will be several years before we know the answer, but considering the fact that it is a wonderful product, I'd say it has a fighting chance against Google.
June 16, 2008 at 12:15pm by Edward Sussman
No. The business model just doesn't scale. Maholo's goal of maintaining 50,000 "search" entries is really just a standardized version of About.com/
June 16, 2008 at 12:34pm by Lynne d Johnson
I do think Google will have to make some changes though, to keep up with the times. As we move into Web 3, we're in the semantic Web era. The company will have to do more with data portability, beyond the confines of Google, as well as more with connectivity. Google is not a semantic Web search engine, in fact the only ones I can think of are hakia and powerset. As far as search engines are concerned, Google still relies on a keyword system. Search is going to have to become more relative to the actual query as we move into Web 3. So although I don't think Mahalo or ChaCha are on a path at replacing Google, both of them, as well as Powerset and hakia, may have an influence on what Google becomes in the future.
June 16, 2008 at 12:41pm by Rachel King
They won't anytime soon, but I think it would be foolish to assume that no one will ever top Google. Perhaps traffic and business for these engines are small now, and it could take some time, but someday someone will come along and give Google a run for their money.
June 16, 2008 at 3:04pm by Rip Empson
I agree with Emerson and have to admit that I had never considered one of the most powerful forces working against Maholo and others. The fact that Google, with its resources and revenue could very easily integrate this people-generated method into their search engine or start another engine, perhaps named Goggle. Why couldn't they? If so many people are unhappy with the Google SE results, isn't it in their best interest?
June 16, 2008 at 8:41pm by Angela Hill
I'm more interested in the future of Boopsie and it's mobile search technology that is 100 times faster than Google and completely accurate. Now, that's a serious threat.
June 17, 2008 at 12:39am by Lynne d Johnson
@Emerson Churchill - Sometimes I want search results that are based on more than link popularity and sites that have really good SEO. Sometimes I want the best possible result to what I'm searching for, or the best possible answer. And no, Ask.com doesn't provide this. There is a place for Mahalo or ChaCha to step in here. But then, much of Google's power, though they dominate market share for search, is also based on market share for online advertising and market share for online video. These sites can be companion players somehow, or as I said before, influence the next rev of Google.
June 17, 2008 at 7:53pm by Mark Salinas
Mahalo appears to have a sound infrastructure and a creative marketing plan.....it would be nice to see Google get a bit of a run.