Google searching has become a reflex — type in a couple words, click a link or two from the first page of results, and move on. Not much thought involved here. We trust that Google has gotten their algorithm right, and that the best and most authoritative results have bubbled magically up to the top.
Few people stop to think about the fact that “The Google Way” is not the only way to search for information. Indeed, lots of folks are working hard on alternatives to Google. One notable example is Cuil (pronounced “cool”), the brainchild of former Google employees. It arrived on the scene a couple weeks ago, but only to mixed reviews.
Another exciting area of search engine development is in the display of results (the buzz words are “visual search” or “visualization”). Here are a couple sites that do very cool things with your search queries:
Give these sites a try sometime when you have the urge to Google, or if you’re feeling especially librarianish, compare your results in Google with those from a visual search engine. Go ahead, be bold! Think outside the Google.
Tags: Cuil, Google, Kartoo, Search, Search engine, Searchme, Ujiko, Viewzi
