Cuil.com: Let the unfortunate puns begin.
So everyone was talking about Cuil today, the newest search engine on the proverbial block.
Created by some ex-Googlers eager to whittle market share away from the search behemoth, Cuil (pronounced “kool,” like the menthol cigarettes I sometimes smoked in high school for that coveted fresh breath/nicotine buzz combo) bills itself as “the world’s biggest search engine,” claiming to index three times as many pages as Google.
What else is new with Cuil? Seemingly a lot. Not only does the SERP look quite a bit different than anything you’ve seen before – think columns, sort of like a magazine page – but the company claims to be ranking on site content, not popularity (i.e. links).
So, after some test searches and a seemingly endless inter-office email chain, here’s what we think of Cuil so far:*
Point: Preeeeetty!
“I like some of the things they are doing – specifically, the layout and lack of ads.” – Will Smith
“I think it’d be interesting to see Google search results in a Cuil-like grouping.” – Joseph Jaramillo
Counterpoint: But Where’s the Beef?
“I got an awful lot of ‘no results’ pages.” – Brian Alig
“Why is this neat little SERP soiling itself with such craptastic results?” – Sara Wachter-Boettcher
Point: Link-Free and Lovin’ It!
“Links in theory should be used for pointing to relevant/useful info, but more often than not, they’re a popularity contest.” – Will Smith
Counterpoint: Content alone? No Thanks.
“Links generally give a better indication of relevance because people link to content they find useful, and – theoretically – a human will always be better at that job than any algorithm, however advanced or intuitive.” – Joseph Jaramillo
Point: Who Cares? It’s all Going Social.
“I still think that unless Google fundamentally changes, it too will be of limited use in the next few years. Search is going to be more social, where your friends are the ‘deciders’ on what is relevant.” – Will Smith
Counterpoint: Social? Dear God I Hope Not.
“When I want to know about, say, an event in history, I don’t want my friends to be the deciders. I want people with accurate information about that specific subject to be the deciders.” – Sara Wachter-Boettcher
Of course, we’re not the only ones with doubts about Cuil. Less than 24 hours in, reports are flying about the engine’s clunky performance on day one – and with a less-than-perfect launch, people are already getting Cuil fatigue.
Functionality and relevancy issues aside, that just might be enough to kill Cuil.
*Eds. Note: Expletives and goading have been expunged. Opinions are subject to change at any time, as we are a fickle, fickle bunch.
