Search 2008 - Flipper, Jaws or the Remora
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As the search engine race heats up, more and more evidence surfaces to the effect that this year will be the year of search. From Jimmy Wales and Jason Calacanis squaring off at the Digital Life Design conference to Google’s “behind the scenes” search elements - the quest for the next search is in full swing. Search Wikia just launched in Alpha to less than rave reviews (except from me), and now Google is doing everything from “playing doctor” to feeding Calacanis and Mahalo. I think the end result of this initial posturing will be something great for search users, but perhaps the journey will be entertaining as well.
Wales Versus Calacanis
Marshal Kirkpatrick publicized the discourse between Wales and Calacanis on ReadWriteWeb the other day and I found the discussion to be fascinating if not information filled. This conversation essentially revealed two things to me: It galvanized my opinion that Jimmy Wales is an honest and steadfast visionary with little but altruistic intentions, and that Jason Calacanis is really a predator in search of new prey.
Calacaniis’ dialogue , as iterated by Kirkpatrick, is indicative of a man in search of someone else’s coat tail to ride. He tried to put Wales on the defensive almost from the start by essentially accusing him of making people work for free and then pointing out that he actually pays people to edit Mahalo’s results. All the while Wales simply related his honest truth about Wikia Search and attempted to point the discussion in a positive direction. Calacanis was obviously influenced by Google search executive Marissa Mayer’s participation in the discussion, as he shamelessly scraped and bowed to Mahalo’s admitted partner in search crime Google.
It is quite obvious, when observing discussions as a detached observer, exactly who is about “what”, and this discussion was exemplary because of the disparity in honesty between Wales and Calacanis. Wales readily admitted that Wikia Search might well fail, and I though this and the fact that he also revealed he has no plans to do ads on the engine pretty much said it all. Calacanis is renown for his “success by any means” tactics, and it was interesting to note a commenter on the RWW article called Calacanis a spammer. I have know Wales for some time, and he is one of those people I am proud to call friend. I am always as impartial as I can be and Jimmy’s stories and news don’t evade close objective scrutiny either, but Wales is the real deal. As for Calacanis, he is real too - the other end of the definition is just not nearly as glowing.
Human Search and Sleeping Giants
This “back story” is only half the picture as far as search and particularly “human guided search” is concerned. Perhaps we have all be a little naive in our assumptions that hakia, Powerset, Wikia Search and others are taking aim at a helpless sleeping giant of a search entity, when Google is in fact processing and perhaps imitating every move these other companies make.
Wales and the other people in Kirkpatrick’s article, appropriately named “Humans Interrupting Algorithms“, made a point of the fact that Google already has people scrutinizing the engines results. As further evidence of Google‘s rather understated intent, they are already launching human filtered search via Google marker with aspects like topical editing by none other than the same type of contributors Jimmy utilizes for Wikipedia. Yes, you read that right, Google is canvassing the Net neighborhood for free labor as Calacanis so bluntly called Wales’ methods. If Google can manage to attract enough people to do this filtering/editing aspect, and add the potential relevance of human scrutiny, then obviously this is a real way to “head off” any efforts by Wikia Search and others.
Given Calacanis’ relationship to Google via Mahalo, it is not a stretch to see the possibility of that human filter being bought by Google. If this comes to pass, then the only logical next step for Google would be either to buy out one of the semantic engines or create one of their own. Given their past methods, buying seems to be the best and most economical in my view. Powerset, though not as far along as hakia, would seem to be their best target. I expect that hakia might be averse to a buyout because of Riza Berkan’s philosophy and their investors. Powerset has a great mind behind it in Barney Pell, but their investors do not seem to me to be in at for the long haul.
Art Versus Dollars
I remember talking with Jimmy Wales, Riza Berkan, Barney Pell and many others about the power and possibility of collaboration between these search startups many months ago. All of them agreed that some collaborative venture would be fantastic and logical, but there was always something in the way as I saw it. Riza Berkan of hakia seemed ready but only when the “art” was right. Jimmy always seems ready provided the essence of the suggestion is in line with his beliefs. Barney Pell of Powerset seems to have always been in it for “doing the art” but to me he always seems constrained by some outside influence.
Google and people like Calacanis are not into anything but money essentially. This is the big problem I have with them and other companies. In the pure quest for money alone, ramrod and mediocre efficiency become the cornerstone of businesses like these. You can see this “law of efficiency bred mediocrity” played out all over the Google landscape. Things like people, beauty, art and excellence give way to simplistic workability. All things Google or Calacanis for that matter, end up being essentially “just good enough” to get the job done. In the end, though we cannot often see it, Google and companies like it stand in the way of Wales and the uplifting art for which he is so noted by most but criticized for by remora like Calacanis.
Thanks Phil, for laying it out so brilliant yet in such a away that even I can understand it
xx
Lu
I love that little cartoon lol
Great article phil, I have to say that its interesting that Google has come so far.
What happened to the “Don’t be evil” mantra?
I agree that truly great improvement for humanity really does come from the Art.
It is the pursuit of a higher ideal and a passion for making things better that drives humanity forward in leaps and bounds. Ironically its exactly this kind of passion and innovation that allowed google to leapfrog the “big guys” only a few years ago, looks like pretty soon it’ll be wikias turn
I’ll have to Google remora i ain’t sure what that means* ;))
U failed to mention MicroPOOP don’t they have Search?
I know finding things sometimes can be really frustrating* Many newsites take CNN for example - U see something running across the Ticker at the bottom that interests U - but try + find the goddam Story for additional info on their Site! Not a hope in Hell - same goes for Newspapers who typically Hoard their stoopid info + after a Week remove the Story from the Net + U got it - make ya Pay to find the stoopid thing*
I thought hakia was too involved - maybe for a small select group of Power Searchers it might be fine but for the average person Google is a godsend*
+ far as their Ads go - Rock On - i sometimes Find or discover Stuff i wanna Buy + thass a Good thing* Besides every Web2.0 Blogger + his Mother are supported by Ads of some sort*
they ain’t doin’ for the Goodness of their Health or cuz they have a soft spot in their Hearts for Humanity! thass fer damn sure*
Now me on the other hand I just wanna Get Rich!
Call Me!!
;))
Peace*
Well, we are all waiting for the next new thing. I was hoping it would be a third pipeline.
Those Google boys need to up their bid for Auction 73. So far that has been a poor showing.
So far Mahalo is a joke.
Quick correction: the quote you give to Google in your photo was actually Esther Dyson.
>> Google and people like Calacanis are not into
>> anything but money essentially.
Actually, I did ok with the last company (Weblogs, Inc) and it really isn’t about money for me. It’s really about building something that helps people. I know you don’t know me and it’s easy to throw the personal attacks around, but if you had a beer with me you would find that money is the last thing that motivates me.
all the best,
jason
Matt … I cannot take credit for that. Mig made the cartoon for me. It is cute, and I like jimmy as the flipper..that was my idea.
Always,
Phil
Thanks Mike,
I will wait to pass final judgment on Mahalo as far as search, I already did the judgment thingy based on defending my friend. The final truth is a goal not achieved in one sitting.
Thanks so much for your insight!
Always,
Phil
I’d love to comment on this one. But Jason says that SEOs are shit, yet he depends on SEO for his neat positioning in Google (with Mahalo, yes) and Google on the other hand owns the biggest SEO company in the world (fyi “Performics”) - so I keep quiet by saying: I will not comment. Contradiction in absurdum. Yet my way.
Jason,I am sorry if the quote on the image is not accurate, I was going on the commentary posted by RWW (wherein the name was spelled wrong any way).
As for my zealous perception based on perhaps bad press and obviously in defense of Jimmy, I would love to hear your take on these issues in a more in depth fashion,
I will contact you and perhaps we can give people a more accurate view of your vision. I really do want to be fair and my friends know this. Perhaps I can buy you that beer and there is no telling what great collaborations we can scheme up.
Always,
Phil Butler
Phil: if you know the quote is wrong why don’t you change it or put a correction? Kind of unfair to put words in someone else’s mouth no?!
… and yes, good to be in touch on email. I think what you’ll learn is that Jimmy and I are about 99.99% similar in our approach. In fact, there are very few folks out there who are crazy enough to run at big windmills like we’re doing.
Also, if you wanted to do something for money search is not the surest bet–not by a long shot!
Glad you’re willing to get to know a person and possibly reshape/rethink your perceptions of them. Don’t base everything you know on Valleywag’s warped characterization of me.
best j
Shrug.
No offense, but every time I see complaints about search, it reminds me that most people just don’t know how to search properly, or don’t have the patience to do so.
I’ve seen more than one person complain that they can’t find anything about, say, caterpillars, when they could Google moths, butterflies, larvae, pupae or insects. Or they could try alternate spellings — so many people cannot spell worth a damn and that’s a part of the problem as well.
It’s this thinking one step apart (outside the box although I loathe that cliché) which so many people fail to do. Then they end up with either no information, or not very useful info, or too much of it. Or, worse, they end up with grossly biased information.
So many people go out to Google and never, ever read this: http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/basics.html And then they wonder why they don’t get good information.
But it’s not just that. It’s also a basic of education. People need to have critical thinking skills, and not just accept whatever pops out of the search box. It’s understanding how to read websites where the writer may have an axe to grind, or is just out and out lying. Or being satiric (how many people have not figured out that the Onion is satire? More than a few).
Go Google “global warming” or “Second Amendment” and be prepared to be deluged with websites with massive axes to grind and enormous, weighty biases. But the person educated in critical thinking will understand that that’s going on, and will sift through the chaff in order to find the wheat.
Don’t blame search for people being unable to do that. Blame schools, blame teachers, blame students. But Google isn’t responsible for that.
Jes, the article doesn’t intend to educate people on how to do search, it simply analysis some new trends in this field - one being adding the human factor to refine the search results.
You are very much mistaking when you say Google is not responsible for the search results. These are based on algorithms which, if improved, can provide for much better results - show real information first instead of scraper and spam sites, show Paris the city instead of Paris Hilton and so on.
Google’s image search is pure crap if you think about it, and that’s not because people don’t know how to search. It’s because Google did not take the time to improve these algorithms. Instead of buying more and more startups that prove to be successful, they should focus on what they do best (search that is) and perfect the system.
Jason I am not disputing your word but I am caught in between the transcript on RWW and a person not included (apparently) in this discourse.
I will of course want to clarify this, so if you could help I will be happy to correct this.
As I said, I was (and we all are to some extent) traveling on a combination of facts, appearances, indications and of course perception.
I sincerely and honestly want to know (as we all do) the actual truth of things. This is never more important than in dealing with one another as you know.
You were very gracious to agree on a Q & A with regard to your vision and take on search and other issues. I don’t agree with the “money” or no-money standpoint in this latest comment, obviously because of the model Google has presented to the world.
Search as a platform for change (either in the infrastructure of the Web - or particularly in the most common methodology people use for surfing) is obviously fundamental. I think all these investors are not shelling out millions on an altruistic hunch.
This will be an interesting and fruitful discussion, and perhaps we might widen the scope of this if you are agreeable. In my view (which is certainly not the only one) search, or at least greatly advanced search is THE story of Web 2.0 (if that term is valid at all).
I hope I can clarify with Marshal or Esther who said what- I hope you see my dilemma in that I don’t want to put the words in yet another unsuspecting mouth if this is the case.
Thanks so much Jason,
Phil
Thanks Jes,
I happen to agree to a large extent with your take, but though these two variables exist - they are also mutually exclusive of one another in another way.
Not bragging, but I have developed (as many have) over the years, an acute ability to find anything I am looking for with virtually any of the engines. This is probably what you would call “and educated refinement” or the search process.
However, educating people not withstanding, refined search is still another story. Let me make an example here:
Given a subset of query results as a starting point (based on any search engine) how can we determine the “actual” relevance based on such limited information (no matter how extensive)? What I mean is, how can we assume that Google is actually returning the most relevant results based on this sub-set of “apparently” qualititive answers?
What we currently see in a Google (or any other search) is simply a fraction of the possible results based on a mathematical (and as we are seeing - a manipulated set as well) equation. Think instead of that one super revelevant return of some page(s) or site(s) outside the reach - for whatever reason- of the engine’s capability.
There is no telling how many lost relevances are out there, except to trust Google that their system works. We have seen that the Google variant works better to a large extent, but this is not to say that it is wholly accurate.
Relevance, when qauged in this way is not relevance at all, but an approximation. We have watched the Google results get more and more “muddy2 with time. Where search is headed is into the next quantum leap towards even better answers.
As for education, search is the fundamental dynamic for promoting better knowledge, as I have said before. Knowledge is the result of search no matter how we look at it. This tool can accomplish, or help accomplish remedying this disparity you speak of.
I appreciate your insight, and I know you will see that especially for those with limited search capability, semantic, algorithmic, human of any combination thereof can only help even the ignorant.
Always,
Phil
Taking on Google is a huge undertaking, any alternatives to succeed are going to be those which provide value and more reliable, relevant results. As with Firefox they will first need to develop a good core of dedicated enthusiastic and informed followers / contributors. I reckon that will only happen if the developers are seen as the good guys.
In the long run though the “Paris Hilton’s” will still remain a major type of search term, spammers will still do their best to try and beat the system and probably even more specialized, detailed, knowledgeable content will become subscription only.
I salute, and certainly embrace wholeheartedly the “subscription only” idea.
Jason and Phil,
Next time both of you are in New York you can include me in on that beer.
Let’s not forget Han Solo. He was only in it for the money and then he changed.
Stevo, the best beer is still in Germany!
Then drink a Heife Weisen for me.
Steve you know I am your man..just went and bought some! Seriously, mail me NOW.
Phil
[...] of this “oh crap” moment is none other than Jason Calacanis. Not too long ago I was fairly critical of Calacanis over his apparent treatment of Jimmy Wales. Calacanis commented here and we exchanged [...]