Top 10 Alternative Search Engines of 2008 - Page 2
6. Mednar
We had no idea how many health search engines there really were until Hope Leman started covering them on AltSearchEngines. Mednar is one we're particularly fond of: "I am in jaw-dropping, stupefied awe at the general excellence of the products of his (CEO Abe Lederman's) firm. Anything that saves all of us time as we hunt for relevant data amidst overwhelming amounts of information on every conceivable aspect of disease day after day catches my attention, and it has been caught today by Mednar."
7. Quintura
When you search with Quintura, you'll see a two-dimensional tag cloud (i.e. not a list). The other words in the box are there to allow you to explore concepts related to your original query. See something you hadn't thought of? Click on it and the cloud re-orients itself around that new term. You can delete irrelevant terms as well. But don't worry, it also provides a traditional list for you, just in case. Quintura is now available in several language "flavors" as well! Content publishers should investigate Quintura for possible use on their sites. (Disclosure: Quintura is a sponsor of both AltSearchEngines and RWW.)
8. SeeqPod
Speaking with SeeqPod's CEO Kasian Franks, I was shocked, shocked, to learn that not everyone owns an iPhone! Apparently there are millions of people who have nice smart phones that run something called "Windows Mobile." Anyway, SeeqPod has been constantly improving its music search engine ever since we came across it. And now, it can be installed on millions of smart phones that use the Windows Mobile platform (v.6.0 or higher). This, as RWW noted the other day, "is a bold move from one of the most innovative companies in online music. The SeeqPod API is already one of the most popular for third parties to integrate streaming music into other apps, and the company seems to launch something unexpected every month. This has got to take the cake, though."
9. Surf Canyon
Can I say it again? Search, after ten years, is no longer that ubiquitous box in the middle of the web page. In 2008, it gave way to innovative search tools that integrate useful features in new ways. Surf Canyon is also a download. I wonder how many commenters will say that no one will download an app? (Sigh.) The reason it's worth the download is that it turbo charges your regular searches. Surf Canyon actually watches what you do -- and don't do -- and what you click on, and it instantly pulls search results from deeper pages (say, page 8) and brings them forward if it determines that they can save you time -- a lot of time. And if you're still hesitant about the download, watch the video.
10. Taggalaxy.de
What's this? A personal favorite? This write-up is just a sneak peek of Taggalaxy.de; the rest is up to you. Taggalaxy.de (in German) was created by a German graduate student for a class project. There are almost no instructions: I had to learn how to use it by clicking, double-clicking, dragging, and just playing around with it. But I can tell you this, once you've got the hang of it, find a dark room with a monster screen, and then perform a search. What you see will be not just an alternative search engine, but an alternative search galaxy!
So, there it is. In 2006, I began a mission to find every search engine, one by one. The resulting list of 100 Alternative Search Engines was published on ReadWriteWeb in January of 2007. Four months later, AltSearchEngines was launched by myself and Richard MacManus, with an index of 1,000 alternatives to the major engines. Since then, AltSearchEngines has published over 2,000 posts about, "the most wonderful search engines you've never seen." Having honed our search-engine-finding skills, I can tell you that this list of the top 10 alternative search engines for 2008 is as current as today's news. Want more? AltSearchEngines reports on important updates, features guest posts from search experts, and of course explores the as-yet-unseen search engines of 2009, every day. Come and join us!
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Cool list! There were several on there I have never seen. My favorite (the only one I use outside of Google) is Viewzi. For any type of search where the results are visual (video, photos etc.) it rocks.
I will add the best kid-friendly search engine Quintura Kids
http://www.quinturakids.com
I'm quite partial to Clusty.com which allows you to further narrow results by focusing on sub-categories and keywords. Not particularly innovative but the UI is as unobtrusive as Google and the results are pretty encompassing, even for niche searches. I've been using it for most of my searches since I discovered it.
Thank you Charles, ASE & RWW. We're honored to have been included on this list along with such compelling and innovative search companies!
For eBayers check out http://www.getitnext.com/ it makes it easy to find products and deals on eBay. much cleaner and easier to use than eBay itself.
Thanks again RWW. Great list. I particularly liked KallOut.
Nice list of search engines,I have not really know about them as I used to search in Google for anything.Thanks for sharing.
looking for old friends, pipl.com is a great one for looking up, well, people.
Hey Charles... Thanks for mentioning Tazti Speech Recognition in this great article.
Everyone is invited to check out our Youtube video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1tt_aeIAM8
Don't forget that tazti a free download at tazti.com
Good article. I was expecting to see TinEye here though. Too mainstream?
Mednar is a good search engine designed for medical researchers to quickly access information from a multitude of credible sources.
I agree on Mednar. Been using it a lot lately to figure out what is wrong with my back
about mednar - similar but actually even more impressive is GoPubMed; have a look.
How long until Google buys one of these guys? Pretty cool technology, but nobody know about them.
Hi,
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Get the Firefox plugin and let the magic begin...
Plugin : http://www.webzzle.com/intl/en/add_buttons.html
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Good stuff man. I am so happy that we just dont have to rely on big old Google everytime. That is too much power !
Thanks for the information on the search engines.
But, you are not ever mentioned the CUIL / ASK / WIKIA and other main search engines.
Are you thinking that are not in the Top 10?
Do you have any statistics for declaring these top 10?
If you have the statistics, by showing them to everybody it is very much helpful to business men.
Regards,
Karunakar.
Great,
Never aware about so many other search engines as mainly I think about only 3 big...
This page become good source to one who want a list of search engines other than G, M & Y!
Thanks for sharing such good information.
Thanks
I also recommend
http://www.ziipa.com
Great list BTW!
What about people search 123people?
finding everyone you want to know and them some....
http://123people.com
How could you not include findingDulcinea.com?? I found them through a Mashable article as one of the most underrated sites for 2008. You need to go check it out. Great information. They cut through all the waste on the Internet and I find what I need.
Thanks for the great list.
Thanks Charles for once again featuring life outside of the big three. That life is vibrant and full of innovative technologies users should be excited to discover. I, especially, realize startups have an uphill battle to be heard by the masses. It is my wish for more independents to gather on common ground (your ASE venue, for example), and assemble a “collective voice” so their wonderful creations can be enjoyed by as many as possible. Collectively, they can help shine that “alternative light” (currently held up by your shoulders almost exclusively) on the Web’s exciting new search technologies each has in some way contributed to. To the top 10, congrats! And to the rest, they are winners too - for creating and advancing that which only innovative minds can bring to life - the way we do the next great technology thing!
I'll give a few a try ......Unfortunately I've only got so much time on my hands:-(
great!! I THINK YOU VERY HONOURS..THANK YOU VERY MUCH.i also have the good website suggestion.but this about ideas to design a new kitchen at your house althought the space is small
http://kitchen-backsplash-ideas2.blogspot.com/
You would expect Cuil to be on this list wouldn't you? Well unfortunately their not doing so well. After all that publicity they had they ended up being a failure and then all of these search engines came from behind and tossed them out of the park.
great list, i ve been using kallout and its the ultimate in saving time and expliring more about everything.
Well evaluated list...nice to know about more search engines available other than G.M.Y....
Thank, Your list is useful for me.
Great list of alternative search. It would seem that vertical search is now becoming the order of the day. How often would you "google" a friend when you could look them up in say, "facebook"?
My favourite visual search is Search Me. While this won't offer very good local search I think the model is one that could quite quickly catch on. While not 100% when it comes to results this is a fantastic idea.
Some of these look really nice but after playing around for a while the novelty weears thin and they annoy the hell out of me. I don't think any of these will be able to touch Google for a long while yet. I do think competion like this is good for all of us though and who knows who will dominate in ten years time.
I think http://www.refseek.com/ should be in this list