ie8 fix
madison

Google: It's not me, it's you

By | October 6, 2009, 9:13am PDT

Summary: Google, I think your problem is that you’ve lost sight of your search priorities.

Ah Google. How I used to love your search functionality. You found so many little ways to complete me in the way that you provided me information. Alas, as with every fiery romance, ours must come to an end. I have found someone else: Kosmix.

I realize that Kosmix may not be as popular as you are but I’ve always tended to go for the geeky loner. While you provide me multiple links when I search for a topic, and sometimes images, I still have to click to multiple screens (news, images, etc.) to get the job done. And, let’s face it — in these times of rampant social media adoption peer recommendations on content are becoming more prevalent than your static (albeit savvy) search that first delivers the corporate sales page. I need more out of my search relationship, and Kosmix gives me much more.

Proof is in the… searching –>

Topics

Jennifer Leggio, aka "Mediaphyter," writes about the "social business" side of social media - including enterprise, security and reputation issues.

Disclosure

Jennifer Leggio

Jennifer is employed full-time with Fortinet, a leading network security appliance vendor. She is also actively involved in the network security community and works with the Security Bloggers Network. She co-manages the annual Security Bloggers Meet-UP at RSA Conference.

Jennifer is also involved with Silicon Valley Tweet-Up, a philanthropic networking event that brings people together to raise money for local family-oriented charities.

The blog posts here are solely her opinion and do not represent her employer or any other organization with which she may be affiliated.

Biography

Jennifer Leggio

Jennifer Leggio (@mediaphyter) has been a communications professional for more than 15 years, focusing primarily on enterprise technology and security. She is currently the director of strategic communications for a leading network security vendor. Jennifer is also passionate about all things social media, especially enterprise, security, privacy and reputation issues, which is why she writes about these things for ZDNet.

A well-connected communicator, Jennifer has led or supported interactive social networking efforts for security industry conferences including RSA Conference, Black Hat USA and SOURCE Conference, and founded the Security Twits, a community for network security professionals. She also helps run communications for the Security Bloggers Network.

Finally, Jennifer co-hosts the Quick'n'Dirty social media podcast with Aaron Strout, is a founding member of Technically Women, a communal blog project, and manages marketing and public relations for Silicon Valley Tweet-Up, a networking group that raises money for family-oriented charities. Jennifer was profiled in Silicon Valley San Jose Business Journal's "40 Under 40" edition, as a rising star for 2009.

Related Discussions on TechRepublic

Did you know you can take part in these discussions with your ZDNet membership?
99
Comments

Join the conversation!

Just In

Way too busy
divendra 3rd Nov 2009
I did a search on SEPTA because their workers have called a strike, and it took me a minute to find what I actually wanted, amid all the crap on the page. If I'm bored and have nothing to do, I would use Kosmix, but if I actually want to find something, I will use Google. Who really cares who's tweeting about something? If I want to know that, I'll go to Twitter.
0 Votes
+ -
Wow, this thing is cool
T1Oracle 6th Oct 2009
I'm a Google fan, but so far this looks much better
0 Votes
+ -
I know!
Jennifer Leggio 6th Oct 2009
I love it. It doesn't have all topics, but it had most of the stuff I searched for.
0 Votes
+ -
weak, not for techies
Linux Geek 6th Oct 2009
Just put some not very popular words and the result yields nothing.
0 Votes
+ -
Hmm interesting
Jennifer Leggio 6th Oct 2009
Last I spoke with Kosmix they are still building out the database of search topics. Definitely young, hence why I won't totally let go of Google of course, but I prefer the way it frames results.
0 Votes
+ -
I remember when Google was a new search engine.
Letophoro Updated - 6th Oct 2009
It wasn't great to start with either. When it did have results, they tended to be better than the other engines, but it was kind of hit and miss. It rapidly got better. I hope the same is true of Kosmix.
0 Votes
+ -
The flip side of that
Michael Kelly 6th Oct 2009
is that by the time their database does improve enough, Google could improve their interface to match or better theirs. And Google's database is already where it needs to be.
0 Votes
+ -
Build their DB before launch?
storm14k 7th Oct 2009
I wonder would it have been better for them to just sit back and crawl for a while longer before launching.
results from Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia etc..
0 Votes
+ -
Thats why there's a thing called competition, and doing things in other ways, that other users find useful.
0 Votes
+ -
...and competitors can steal (nt)
JonWayn 7th Oct 2009
nt
0 Votes
+ -
Not for techies?
zdnet-gregc 7th Oct 2009
I agree, being one myself. But out of curiosity, what percentage of the search market do you estimate to be techies as opposed to mere mortals approaching the web in social network mode? Personally, I suspect techies are in the noise these days. And that irks me no end because as greybeard techie I have a pathological aversion to the facebooks of the world happy
0 Votes
+ -
Obscure Subject Matter
bigpicture 7th Oct 2009
It is not just techie information, it is any information
that would not be social mainstream, such at Legal,
Medical, Political etc. etc. Both a huge database and
an adept search engine is required.
0 Votes
+ -
Social networking...
janitorman 7th Oct 2009
is absolutely useless to me. If I wanted to do "social networking" I'd be down at the bar, over at the gym, or at some business meeting instead of in front of a computer.
I guess they have to attract people FROM the bars, gyms, and business meetings to use this stuff so they try to make it look attractive...
the last thing you want on a computer. You want it to do plain text, crunch numbers, and possibly edit pictures. Period.
0 Votes
+ -
Took a look.
bjbrock 6th Oct 2009
It would take some getting use to. I like Google's straight to the point links. Especially when using expressions.
0 Votes
+ -
Sure
Jennifer Leggio 6th Oct 2009
It's definitely not for everyone. I like it for my purposes -- I'm usually searching for peer-driven content. It's perfect for that.
0 Votes
+ -
You should call it a ..
janitorman 7th Oct 2009
SOCIAL search engine then and make it perfectly clear it's not a replacement for Google or the others but uses them TO search for its content instead of COMPARING it to Google.
Sorry, I think it's useless, just like Facebook, Twit, and all that other crap.
0 Votes
+ -
If you had friends ...
JonWayn 7th Oct 2009
like most do, and especially ones you havent seen in years and dont know their whereabouts, and are interested in mending those broken links, you would no doubt find FB a useful resource. I am not quite into social network sites. I dont see the need to have a profile on every jack one that comes out. For that matter I hate most of them: MySpace, Twitter, you name them. But I gotta say that Facebook has earned its stay as far as providing a forum for me and former high school friends goes. Family and friends out of the country too.
0 Votes
+ -
it's unfortunate
johnengel 8th Oct 2009
that the likes of wikipedia, you tube and tweets are the results for an informational search. Peer driven content, jeesh!
0 Votes
+ -
results are OK, but take too long to show.
I couldn't use this regularly.
0 Votes
+ -
My thoughts too
Mikael_z Updated - 7th Oct 2009
but it's a metasearch engine, it's not really a search engine but uses other and real search engines, hence the long wait.

Nothing wrong with it, nice presentation, but isn't really competing with Google and isn't really a search engine. Heck, it uses Google like the rest of us... happy
0 Votes
+ -
How
JonWayn 8th Oct 2009
do you know what its under-belly is?
0 Votes
+ -
...and you'll see the Google logo too.
0 Votes
+ -
You're living too fast ...
caruso94 8th Oct 2009
... and you're failing to factor in the time saved by not having to wade through all the crap on Google search these days. Quality is worth waiting for.
0 Votes
+ -
Fail
AzuMao 10th Oct 2009
All the results on it are just scraped from other
search engines (e.g. Google, Yahoo, MSN) and sites
that have search engines built into them (e.g.
Wikipedia, Twitter)..
0 Votes
+ -
Looking good ...
johnfenjackson@... 6th Oct 2009
... type in a topic and it creates a little universe on the fly happy

Gonna give it a shot when I am trying a real search instead of playing about.
0 Votes
+ -
Contributr
Google should just buy Kosmix, eat their technology, and then everyone can be happy happy

Cheers,
Chris
0 Votes
+ -
Shhh!
Jennifer Leggio 7th Oct 2009
(Though I can see it wink )
0 Votes
+ -
Ehh...
TSH4Life@... 7th Oct 2009
I don't see it, considering this "technology"
does Google searches and links you to them. Why
would Google buy a site that searches their own
site? It'd be redundant (and repetitive).

This is an interesting idea, but I think the
mark is missed, especially considering how
outrageously long it took to "generate" a search
result. If they could get it from the 5-10
seconds it took to generate my results down to
near-instant, then I'll be interested in using
it for searches related to specific topics.

Thanks for the heads up. I want to keep my eye
on this. This could make a very useful topic and
trend analysis tool.
A bunch of the front page content is provided by Google - without Google's contribution the Kosmix frontpage would be pretty lean (at least for most things business that I tried).
0 Votes
+ -
It's not me it's Kosmic
rarsa 7th Oct 2009
It seems cool for mainstream searches. (iPod, Hockey)

I searched "Screen Capture Uitility". The result?

"There isn't a topic page for 'screen capture uitility'. Yet.

But we've made a note of this topic, and we'll try to have it here for you next time".

"next time" ? hahaha, that sound so 80's. If I search is because I want the information now!

I searched for electronics in my city. I got a lot of information on the city, but I had to scroll to be able to find any meaningful link.

I searched for "bay of fundy" (where I was last summer) and found great information.

I purposely mistyped it "bay of fundry". It gave me squat. Google suggested the correct name.

They have something going there, I just wouldn't use it as my main engine just yet.
0 Votes
+ -
Hush, you're disturbing the advertising
Cyberpundit 7th Oct 2009
The author was trying to feign acute admiration for one small feature. Like Vivismo or that strange engine Wolfgang or whatever recently. Please don't call out this bluff because it spoils all the hard work that has gone into creating this story where there was nothing to report. Thanks.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Google: It's not me, it's you
jtomed@... 7th Oct 2009
Although google usually points me in the direction of what I'm looking for I wish each link had an easy to see date showing when the link was posted. Not long ago a search turned up a link to circuit city, on the first page. I'll try ksomic
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Google: It's not me, it's you
OldTechie 7th Oct 2009
Are you familiar with KartOO? (kartoo.com)
It doesn't do any searching. It just scrapes the
Wikipedia and Google search result pages for whatever you
put in. What the hell. Doesn't even hide the fact.
0 Votes
+ -
how? becuase it's not 1995 anymore
gabriel bear 7th Oct 2009
most users these do days do not want to "search"..they want to "find."
remember when altavista was "king of the hill"?
remember when yhoo started stomping on it by doing longg ( i recall 3 hours on a friday) surveys of what yhoo users >wanted to see ??
altavista searched. yhoo indexed.
then along came google.
if this puppy gets 0.00001 of searches currently going thru goog, it's a more than viable biz model.
0 Votes
+ -
And this thing..
AzuMao 7th Oct 2009
..doesn't want to search either. Nice model.
0 Votes
+ -
You're absolutely right
janitorman 7th Oct 2009
It does NOTHING.
I don't want to see an article on what I search for.
I don't want to see what a bunch of twits think about a subject (or whatever twitter is. I don't use it, sounds like another useless internet application like Facebook.)
I don't care how it "looks" I want LINKS to what I searched for, preferably plain text.
If I want to see pictures, I'll use the picture search page. If I want a map I use the map search page. If I want a definition I use the dictionary search page. They all give EXACTLY what I want an NO ADS NO BS. (True, I use an ad remover.)
Oh and if I want ads I have a page just for that without first having to see all this crap.
Try that with this one.
0 Votes
+ -
So true, so very true
walnut186 8th Oct 2009
It isn't a search engine. It just consolidates results. And wicked slow. And it blasts multimedia all over the page before giving search results. And try giving it a spelling error. Yeah. This is a "smart' product? And what is wrong with TEXT for fast (spelled F-A-S-T) search results? If I wanted all that stuff all I need to do is bring up my iGoogle page - and I prepared that the way I wanted.

This is just another wannabee Yahoo!
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Google: It's not me, it's you
Dry_Land_Is_Not_A_Myth 7th Oct 2009
Oh, this is better then google?


Kosmix just had an uncontrollable sneeze, and its heart skipped a beat.

We apologize for the inconvenience. Click the refresh button to see if you can bring it back to life. Our team is scrambling to fix the situation as you read this. If the glitch persists, please let us know.


That's what I got when I tried to do a search. Oh, yeah, this is so much better then Google. Look... A search engine with humor. *laughs* And no content to look at!!

Okay, seriously, you need to stop watching Xplay and writing your post like you're Morgan Webb. You're not funny and neither is she. But the website you suggested was hilarious. I lol'd at the error I got EVERYTIME I tried a search!
0 Votes
+ -
Kosmix is crap
bookmonger 7th Oct 2009
Oh looky, they have reinvented the webmail startpage ! Google's homepage is simple and uncluttered. Gosh, if I continue using Google, my ancient backup computer won't choke up on the absurdly overkill pretty pictures.

My bad, but when I want information, that is precisely what I want. I don't care to see the latest stories on Fark.

Kosmix is crap. I give it zero stars.
0 Votes
+ -
Zero stars? How about -1
walnut186 8th Oct 2009
It just doesn't hack it. As I said before it's a wannabee Yahoo! Plus, I'm not really sure who this reviewer person is. Checked her credentials and found thin air.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Google: It's not me, it's you
Hazconj 7th Oct 2009
I typed in: "Fabulist" and it took me straight to "Fables". Not to "A creator of fables" as it should have. Looks pretty, but has a long way to go. By the way, I Googled "Fabulist" and received a list of various on-line dictionaries with definitions of "Fabulist". I'll keep an eye on it.
0 Votes
+ -
who cares who is tweeting about a web page?

what if i don't want to go to wikipedia?

different strokes for different folks.

i'm sticking with google.
0 Votes
+ -
Not
LV Blog_techblog Updated - 7th Oct 2009
Kosmix? Seriously?? Well, I got my Joke Of The Day! Thanks for the laugh!
thumbs down. Another search portal that thinks we're too stupid to decide for ourselves. Not for the computer or internet saavy. ADD Teens maybe. Returns '0' for many searches also.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Google: It's not me, it's you
erglazier 7th Oct 2009
no jennifer it really is you
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Google: It's not me, it's you
pauley.j@... 7th Oct 2009
I hate having to NEG out the various advertizer that suplant my searches.
0 Votes
+ -
Jennifer, if you don't like the ads,
mhenriday 7th Oct 2009
try Adblock Plus (presuming you're using a sensible browser, like Firefox)....

Henri
0 Votes
+ -
Thanks!
Jennifer Leggio 7th Oct 2009
I'll check it out
0 Votes
+ -
Hi Jennifer, you might try or investigate this search engine. It's a completely different method.

http://www.wolframalpha.com/

The news of this was all the rage back in June. The guy is a brilliant mathematician so I've been told. Be sure to check out the "Examples" button at the top of the page.

I have added this search engine to my bookmarks in Firefox.

Cheers,
Jeff.
Australia
0 Votes
+ -
Way too busy
divendra 3rd Nov 2009
I did a search on SEPTA because their workers have called a strike, and it took me a minute to find what I actually wanted, amid all the crap on the page. If I'm bored and have nothing to do, I would use Kosmix, but if I actually want to find something, I will use Google. Who really cares who's tweeting about something? If I want to know that, I'll go to Twitter.

Join the conversation!

Formatting +
BB Codes - Note: HTML is not supported in forums
  • [b] Bold [/b]
  • [i] Italic [/i]
  • [u] Underline [/u]
  • [s] Strikethrough [/s]
  • [q] "Quote" [/q]
  • [ol][*] 1. Ordered List [/ol]
  • [ul][*] · Unordered List [/ul]
  • [pre] Preformat [/pre]
  • [quote] "Blockquote" [/quote]
ie8 fix
Click Here
ie8 fix
Click Here

The best of ZDNet, delivered

ZDNet Newsletters

Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox

Facebook Activity

White Papers, Webcasts, & Resources
ie8 fix
Click Here
ie8 fix