Update: Some research into the company makes us wonder: How will Cuil be profitable? Based on this statement from their Web site, it appears that Google’s user information assessment methods won’t be employed. Does this mean they only intend to compete with Google in search relevancy? If that’s the case, that leaves little room for revenue growth in two Google’s most vibrant sectors — adwords and adplanner. It seems like Cuil must be going after the head (search) in order to bring down the beast.
“We believe that analyzing the Web rather than our users is a more useful approach, so we don’t collect data about you and your habits, lest we are tempted to peek. With Cuil, your search history is always private.”
Advertisement
Original story: News of the new search engine, Cuil, which hit the ground some 24 hours ago, has so far been all bad. The site was touted as a “Google killer.” A quick visit to the page spurs intrigue at first (it’s kinda pretty; sleek, even), but the feeling is quickly lost; for when a search is performed, dismal results are returned (and displayed in a most unattractive format). Check it out for yourself, here.
As much as we’d like to see Google get knocked down a peg or two, we have to admit that the world’s strongest search engine has spoiled me. How is that? Well for starters, the ability to search web, news, blogs, images, video, etc. (within in seconds, mind you) isn’t a feature Cuil felt necessary to add.
More after the jump.
OK, so maybe that’s further down the road in Cuil planning. But bear in mind; when you’ve been driving a Lexus that parks itself, hopping behind the wheel of an RV can’t compare. Such a vehicle is slow, hard to steer and makes you look like an elderly retired guy.
We say RV (or motorcoach, if you’re an enthusiast) because Cuil offers “Search (for) 121,617,892,992 web pages.” Hmm — that’s a lot of pages (three times as many as Google), but the engine can’t seem to sort through them in an effective way. The display results, as you’ll notice, are not easy to navigate.
Cuil (pronounced “cool”) is the birthchild of a number of ex-Google kids (and an IBM expat Microsofty, too) who apparently didn’t learn much in terms of usability from their former employers. In fact, Cuil’s much anticipated debut is reminiscent of the botched Vista launch.
And we all know how Microsoft is planning to recover from that situation.
Paul Benjou of MyOpenKimono.com writes;
“On a scale of 1-10, it peaks at about a three. A search for the engine itself (Cuil) generates 721,578 results (after a 15 second response time)…Not one result on the first page made reference to the search engine! Search for the engine on Google and it generates 2,030,000 results in one quarter of a second, chock full of information on the engine. An embarrassment for Cuil at the very least.
Round two … I searched for my own self. Over the top results numbered 655,971 with a confusing display of irrelevant topics on Cuil …. including my obituary!!!! Google’s results returned a respectable 1,290 listings, all relevant.”
Adblogger George Parker commented on Benjou’s bit, saying;
“Paul…It’s a piece of shit. No results for AdScam or George Parker… How fucking dare they…”
We feel you George, although a search for “AgencySpy” turned up a page full of stuff concerning, well, AgencySpy. I guess Cuil has that going for it.