Is Cuil Really Cool?
July 28th, 2008
I came across an article today about ex-google workers launching a rival search engine, so of course I had to go check it out myself. Cuil.com purportedly has 3 times more websites indexed than Google; that could mean a lot more junk info to weed through. My first thought after reading the CNN article was good luck outdoing Google, especially with such a lame name. After visiting Cuil, I learned that Cuil is an Irish word meaning knowledge. How appropriate….maybe it isn’t as cheesy as I originally thought. It seems the philosophy of Google analyzing users rather than web content rubbed these ex-google workers the wrong way. Cuil’s philosophy:
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.
I was very impressed with the format for the search results. It is very graphic, great for visual learners. The column format is much easier to read than the average search engine. This could be a really great search engine to teach students why it is important to use specific keywords when searching for information. For example, when you type in the search term, Saturn, Cuil will help you refine your search terms and gives you the option to look at results for Sega Saturn, Saturn Car, Saturn Planet & more. I’ve got my eye on this search engine; it has potential and just may be Cuil after all.
See other reviews:
http://www.informationweek.com/
http://www.hostscope.com/templature/not-so-cuil-after-all/
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/28/technology/28cool.php
http://broadstuff.com/archives/1100-An-initial-review-of-Cuil.html
http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/080728-075255
http://searchengineland.com/080728-000100.php
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/28/068211&from=rss