Forum Moderators: bakedjake
(Sounds like too much upfront involvement to me. How many people want to sign up for an engine and recruit their friends just to do websearch?)
I've done two test searches -- the default, I-haven't-signed-up-for-anything results are Alltheweb with no language filtering (which means I see a lot of Germans if I search for myself).
And their porn filter is not as good as they told the Globe -- when I was trying it out, things like "Free X pictures" and "Dirty pictures" were showing up in the "recent searches" sidebar.
Opinions, anyone? I'm not impressed, but I'm a known cynic.
(Please excuse my lack of reading skills - All though I've read so much about it, I can't understand half of what it does.)
Sid
Never gonna take off ..maybe they may succeed in pitching some cluelss VC's or Technology executives :)
I agree with Jeremy, its a cute idea, but ain't gonna work - would be some useful if it used Google results though, we would have a cute customizable Google.
Also - just had a look at: [home.eurekster.com...]
err... umm.. I wonder from where they got all that info?
Sid
[edit]changed grammar[/edit]
[edited by: sidyadav at 9:08 am (utc) on Jan. 22, 2004]
I looked around at News Reports and can't find anything in the Asian Papers. And it doesn't show up on the Alexa lists in any of the languages so it is either a mystery, or a co-incidence, or, er, something we don't know yet. Curious.
Onya
Woz
Sid
I do like the idea, but agree that it probably won't take off.
Is a good way to remember what sites you've been to though, but no-ones gonna create an account just to do a search.
What I don't get is how they could come out of nowhere (their alexa rank is 416,692 - i know that doesn't mean much, but it gives a rough idea) and get an Overture sponsored links deal. I thought you needed 2 million searches a month to become a partner.
they would no longer be my friends :)
sorry, could not resist.
Shak
If my friends knew what kinda stuff I searched for...
they would no longer be my friends :)
Sid
The guys that developed this also developed Globalbrain (from Snap/NBCi days) so there is some real technology underneath this. That does not mean it will succeed but it is not a complete unknown.
They basically try to cash in on the latest hottest trends...this is not innovation - just BS!
It was tried and failed during the dotcom boom and there are already plenty of friends-based search engines (including ones based on bookmarks).
Anyone know how these services are supposed to make money? I doubt people will pay for it. The only thing I can think of is profile-specific ad targeting which is available to advertisers in other, more popular media (e.g., web pages).
if there is anyone that actually wants to check it out b4 poo-pooing this idea, you can send me an invite/email. pc4media at hotmail
I have been actively growing my network on eurekster because i think it is a cool new site and worth a little experimention.
I've been writing about what I learn. There are definitely some interesting onservations from an SEO/Online Marketing perspective...
[edited by: jeremy_goodrich at 10:34 pm (utc) on Feb. 12, 2004]
[edit reason] see TOS / no URL drops [/edit]
Now there are privacty concerns associated with social networks that make me not want anything to do with them nor have anyone list me as a network contact (see thread in this forum). Scary stuff.
i don't quite understand why you can't post a link to a blog... but here is a post I wrote that talks about eurekster's privacy policy:
Privacy on Eurekster.
Because eurekster makes something that was once private (more aptly, shared with a search engine company only), the issue of privacy is automatically raised. The first complaint from bloggers about eurekster is privacy. However, I believe that most of the people that quickly complain, are alarmists that have not spent enough time using it to actually see how Eurekster protects the privacy of its users.
Although, I believe the balance between protecting my privacy and the value of personalization is something we still have to determine, full disclosure by companies about privacy related issues is imperative. I believe Eurekster is very good about this.
I personally think that Eurekster has taken many precautions to protect privacy. Some of these are:
Registration is required before any searches are stored and presented to your network.
Eurekster does not reveal which terms were searched nor which sites were visited by which individual. It only shows the search terms in aggregate.
When contacting someone via Eurekster regarding a new search term, the email is blind. The only way that someone will know whether I was the one that searched for "paris hilton video", is if they email me to talk about it and then, I respond. They don't know it was me until I respond.
The check box enables people to do a "private" search; it doesn't save that you searched for that nor present it to your network.
From an email from a Eurekster developer:
The toolbar does nothing more than let you make searches on eurekster without having to go to the site, it does not monitor other sites you visit. To quote our privacy policy " Like you, we hate the thought of someone misusing personal information."
Taken directly from the eurekster site, in addition to the above safeguards, they also stress:
"
You have total control over who is in your direct network of contacts
We never send unsolicited email
At any time you can totally unsubscribe and you will not be contacted again
Our whole service depends on us protecting your privacy
You can remove a search you have performed or a site you have visited from the recent searches by following the directions above. "
--------------------
In addition to all of the above, you are not providing Eurekster with anything that you aren't providing google or any other engine when you perform a search.
(sorry if I sterio-typed you in a wrong way.)
Sid
