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Startups galore
New entries into the search world happen every day, and there are a multitude of providers seeking to add value to the search experience. The continued growth of search behavior spells opportunity for investors, and the Google success story has made venture funds readily available.
The newest "wiki" made news this week as a solid entry into the search space. From the founders of Wikipedia, "Wikia" has arrived on the scene looking to capitalize on a much-needed niche increase in search efficiency by adding a social dimension to finding what you need.
Guided search is moving forward with providers like ChaCha that uses real live humans to help locate information. Answers.com is bridging the gap between content and search destinations.
Social search providers and other entries seeking to enhance the information-finding experience all want to solve the same problem: nullify the presence of search engine spam content while creating a more relevant experience for users.
While the enhanced experience is a smart move, it won't be enough to overtake Google, which has plans to revamp its algorithm again in order to dull the effect of content spammers. An algorithmic enhancement to retain the user base is a much simpler alternative to launching a new search site and trying to gain market share.
Real opportunity: a simple definition
Each new search venture has one goal in common: developing a solid revenue model that immediately coincides with a value-added user experience.
Google's help with identifying astral bodies has raised some questions about the search giant's motivations. Google has offered to help analyze the massive amounts of data (some 30 terabytes of data per day by some estimates) generated by the big looking glass. Of course, no revenue model has been established to monetize Orion's belt.
Question the motivation if you will, but in today's day and age, corporate fiscal and social responsibility have become a running joke. As you might recall, it was Google's mission to provide access to the world's data -- advertising arrived on the scene shortly thereafter -- and that model seemed to work out pretty well.
Google's power to influence access to the world's information has led to more than one critic (including yours truly) to stand up and take notice. Maybe Google's idea of leading the charge to invest in the future of the human race -- or at least to do something good in advance of generating revenue -- is the key to being number one and winning the hearts and minds of the searching public.
Kevin Ryan is the Chief Executive Officer of Kinetic Results. Read full bio.
