I don’t know where to begin with this one. It was not that long ago, earlier this year, when Cuil was touted as the Google killer. This search engine was to massacre all known search engines known to man, a powerhouse of innovation and usability. There was a lot of hype, some amazing PR, and the world anticipated this amazing release. Sure many of us had out doubts, Google was just so dominant, how could this awkwardly named search engine be anything better. Then again, Google was an odd word some years ago prior to it making its debut.
So just happend with Cuil, and where is it today? Well aside from the fact that the search engine was a miserable failure. Aside from the fact that the search engine was actually crashing sites. And aside from the fact that there were entire sites, highly trafficked sites, that just did not make the listings. Cuil really tried to succeed, but alas, it was a marketing disaster, a sinking ship, a search engine site that just could not search.
The backlash was expected and even became the root of several jokes in the tech community. I personally remember looking for stories on Cuil so that I could laugh. Critics did not hold back anything with their analysis of the search engine, and almost immediately the wind left its sails.
Today those using Cuil are very very very few and far between. With the number of users practically hitting rock bottom, I almost wonder who is actually using this search engine for anything other than research. I’m convinced that only people using Cuil for research on how not to build a search engine are the numbers that are being recorded. I can’t imagine anyone seriously using it for any practical purposes. Perhaps the developers left their computers on a an infinite search loop to give it some traction, but I doubt it.
Alas Cuil, as we wrap up 2008, you will not be missed, but gosh you provided us with laughs. Thank-you!
Searching is big business. Those listings on the right side of any Google search are there because someone paid money to advertise there. Same goes with the top 2 or 3 links. Google makes a lot of money off of these paid placements, which are there based on their dynamic search technology. Google has also come under fire for the way in which it ranks sites, called Page Rank, it is a top secret way they calculate what search results should be at the top for any given term, based on their algorithm that, some have suggested, is based on the number of in-bound and out-bound links from other sites.
Google is the killer app of this decade, no one is doubting that. It is so popular it has become a verb, people just say, “Can you Google this for me?” which is almost impossible to do with anything anymore. So what if a new search engine comes along and tries to flatten the playing field?
That is exactly what Cuil (pronounced Cool) is trying to do. They claim to index three times the number of sites Google does and display them in a three-across pattern. That alone is kind of unique for searches, as they have always gone vertically. They have also implemented tab searches, a kind of, well maybe if you were looking for camera you might also want to look for digital camera. The search engine works, that really isn’t a question, but why should I use it?
Google does so many things now, like simple and complex math problems, fast weather look-up, package tracking from UPS and other services, all the way to stock quotes and word definitions. For me, it has eliminated the need to go to specialized sites if I can just put a special query in the Google search bar in Firefox. Cuil is also missing an image search function, something even Microsoft and Yahoo have worked into their site.
Cuil has some cool features, like roll overs, drill-down menu’s and the tabbed feature mentioned earlier. They are taking on the proverbial 800 pound gorilla by going after Google too. My two cents say that Cuil will have a small cult following for a while but ultimately, this will only make Google stronger.
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