It's been in beta for a couple of months now...
[edited by: engine at 10:46 am (utc) on Oct. 22, 2004]
Ok. I wonder what the surprise is? ooooh ooooh. me likes surprises, do I get to sit on Santa's knee?
Shame their About us link don't work - I couldn't even find out anything about them. I wouldn't have minded some extra info about this engine. Fine. but how many UK directories do we now have, Must be 200 General ones at least lol.
What's the point in having them all. I can't see an advantage of having 200 UK anything. Oh well, it won't matter in 3 years time anyway.
[edited by: engine at 10:47 am (utc) on Oct. 22, 2004]
You'll be in for a surprise!
All of the results I checked were from Overture....surprise!
Anyway, loads of other SE's & directories have done this in the past, so why can't any of them be judged yet.. Also announcing on their site that it isn't ready, ain't a good move. It's like those 'site coming soon' and 'under development' notices. Very professional.
If I can notice this, that means others can also.
Your right, my comment didn’t make a lot of sense (it was a failed attempt at me being subtle, I’m half asleep, and I wasn’t aware that Conard had posted).
I was trying to suggest that more constructive/less sarcastic criticism might advance the topic better. For example instead of “ooooh ooooh. me likes surprises, do I get to sit on Santa's knee?” you could specify how you would beta test it to a limited number of people without having to have it "on the web for all to see". Personally I’d either pay a limited number of people to use it (that way having a username/password necessary for access) or, for a larger more reflective test, put it on an alternative domain and put up posters in student unions (then pull it before webmasterworld and others found it!). No offence was meant.
I agree with Conard about Overture results – I’m seeing more and more search engines/directories using results from overture/adwords/espotting. Given that the content on these sites are already on Google, Yahoo and numerous partners it’s a wonder that they are attracting users to them. Then again perhaps they are reasonably low cost to set-up/maintain (in which case a small number of users would create a profit and success would come from good marketing of it).
It seems that the webby world is passing great chunks of the same information about, (especially the SE's) and I have some concerns about it:
The fact that one directory/SE is mass marketing/ virally promoting itself, with the distribution of the same old tired results services, must be considered unproductive by it's users? How is passing the same results from SE to SE to Directory going to help users.
This isn't about serving the user, this is about looking after their clients! But neglecting users in the process. It's just seems that client's need will come before the user, will the users development needs ever catch up?
Sorry I'm getting carried away lol. I think a logical move for letsfind is to fully develop and perfect this engine BEFORE advertising it to the world?
That way, they avoid any negative comment that will arise on forums like this. Anyway, surely a company would just include a good feedback form on the completed site, and avoid all this beta rubbish.
Let's discuss the steak and not the peas here. All this 'beta' this and that is some public relations exercise to boost their own ego's. One company says "we'll do beta testing' and the rest follow.
How original. And will this beta testing really do them any good at all? If they wanted results a good market research questionnaire would suffice, or even the services of an agency perhaps......
The only thing that is going to come out of this is the site errors, mistakes will be noticed by all - and remembered! And who is going to bother to report it to them.
BEFORE advertising it to the world
Some of us might agree with your smugly judgemental assessment if this site had in fact been advertising, but the first post makes it clear that they haven't.
I'll self combust at the thought of the state of the UK SE situation
We couldn't be that lucky....
There are some things you can do and there are some you should not
Taking the p*** out of well respected SEO members on an open forum is not big and it certainly is not clever.
maybe because you just can't see the big picture but that's not a problem Newbies are always welcome in UK Search,
I see more and more UK seo's and their websites, ranking global beating most in the SE Game, and i don't just say that because I'm a UK seo... maybe you have heard of Me too ....I'm one of those SEO type guys ooookkkkk ..
DaveN
SEO type guy
Well, ok - but can you prove that I'm wrong. If you can, then that's great. Please post your findings on here, as that would be most helpful.
(and that includes all forms of promotion)
regards
As this is my search engine play around tool, I will comment that:
a) the first poster is nothing to do with me - but is pretty well respected here.
b) I've never met him.
c) I've absolutely no idea how he even heard about Letsfind - let alone found it.
d) It's been on-line in various test modes for several months without me name dropping it anywhere.
e) I don't need to advertise anything at any time by link drops in forums.
f) I'm hardly likely to announce it until the whole thing works properly.
g) Getting the data to put into 490K categories in a totally new directory format is not a 5 minute task - simply because we are NOT auto-generating directory pages - that would be an easy option.
h) If it's all so darned easy, you try and get an Overture/Yahoo backfill.
i) It's pretty difficult to test anything unless it is online - so, of course, it is "out there".
j) There is deliberately no "about us" - I didn't really want anyone viewing it as a working engine.
k) It is not ready for beta-test and says so. When it is we'll be doing some specialist testing.
As a professional SEM company, doing internal workings with a search engine and trying to tie that in to other sematic developments can be quite an advantage.
Is that enough evidence that this wasn't a deliberate attempt at advertising? :)
If I wanted to do it, all I would have to do is make a Press Release, I think I am well enough known for it to garner a lot more publicity than dropping a name in a forum which I have supported for years!
When I do launch it - probably next year, then please comment away. Until then, only I know what I am trying to achieve - and it doesn't sound anything like what you are accusing me of!
Now we know, let's not bicker over unfounded speculation.
Thanks.
