Mahalo Turning to Human-Power for Searches

Mahalo is working to change the way people search the internet.  The current configuration of search engines  forces users to dig through massive results to find what they need. 

Search engines have always been the best way to find websites and information based on keywords.  The results are indexed by “spiders” or “robots,” computer programs designed to search websites and their contents.  The rankings are determined by highly secretive, and ever changing, algorithms. 

Google is the king of the search engines.  It has cornered the market by expanding the way users can search (specifically for news, blogs, sports, etc). 

Other search engines are working to break through the choke hold, but by doing things a little different.  Mahalo, claims to be the world’s first human-powered search engines.  It has traded in the computer indexing for people indexing. 

This method of indexing gives Mahalo the chance to filter out spam and give the best results for a search.  This means that users will have fewer results to manage. 

Unfortunately, having the humans do the indexing means it takes much longer to build a large base.  It may also mean that subjects will be limited to generalized searches.  If you have a subject that is a bit off the main path, you might be better off sticking to the traditional search engines.

Mahalo is just one of the many companies that are looking for new ways to search for information online.  If the leaders want to stay at the head of the pack, they have to be willing to step out of their traditional mode.

Powered by ScribeFire.