Day 219 - June. 21st, 2007
Scoring - It's Like "So You Think You Can Dance."

It's time to phone in your votes people! But instead of a phone, use your computer. And instead of dancers... you're going to be scoring web pages. We've launched a new scoring system to help make your voting easier.

The scoring portion of SearchSays is what I like to call "search and survey." If you're not familiar, whenever you do a search, you have the option of ranking how good the results are. Basically, we've asked ourselves how to make this process easier all around, and ended up creating something completely new.

Hopefully, the rankings are way easier to understand because we now rely on three industry terms familiar to most people who spend a lot of time on the Internet. The magic words are "relevance", "quality", and "rank." These are the same metrics used by search engines like Google to evaluate any given web page. The difference is that they have their spidering program that uses a computational model to figure it out - we have real people (i.e. you).

It's an exciting thing to be able to vote with a couple clicks and some sliding action. If you try out some searches, you'll see there's a new scoring button. When you press it, a window will fade in with three sliders for each of the three scoring metrics.

So it goes like this... click... slide, slide, slide... verify... click... done. If you didn't quite get that, try it out for yourself! If you still can't get it... I suggest a healthy regiment of mouse calisthenics.

- Rob C. - SearchSays.com

Day 210 - June. 12th, 2007
What Goes Around Comes Around.

One of the cool features we're using on SearchSays is the point system (SP) that you can use to add additional search phrases to your listings. For the uninitiated, you basically earn points by writing reviews and voting, and you spend points to index new phrases. It's a very zen-yin-yang-ish sort of concept, I think, and something very important to our future growth.

Aside from the friendly give and take nature of this system, you might like to know why I'm so keen on the idea.

For all you regular, non-profiteering searchers - you can use your SP to highlight sites that are of greater importance to your overall internet experience. While you're not limited to the number of sites you can review, adding a lot of search phrases to a particular site lets the world know just how ecstatic you are about it.

On the other end of the spectrum, I've never said that self-promotion was a terrible thing. After all, if you've created a great, non-spam site, why shouldn't it be ranked high (or at least be given the opportunity to be ranked high) on a search engine. We can't expect to be a fully collaborative search engine without the expectation that some of our contributors are webmasters themselves. I only ask that they pat someone else on the back before they go on a self-promotional binge.

- Rob C. - SearchSays.com

Day 154 - April. 17th, 2007
We've Got a Cool Button, Too!

Awesome! We have a new tool at SearchSays, and it's a browser button. Not for lack of a better name, we've decided to call it "The Button" - cause that's just what it is!

It's what you say?... Well, most people would call it a bookmarking button, but I'd like to take a moment and claim that it's not just any ordinary button. That's right, it's "special."

If you want you can treat it just like other bookmarking tools. In fact, it's quite good at that job since you can very quickly save your favorite sites to SearchSays and find them easily in your listings later (using all the various organizational/search tools provided). However, if you've been reading my blog entries, you know that the goal of this project is much bigger than "saving your favorites." What I want to encourage is active bookmarking. And that's a far different concept than what's already been done.

Probably the two most well known bookmarking services are del.cio.us and the up-and-coming stumbleupon.com. The former is really all about saving your "favorites" just like the classic button that comes with Internet Explorer and most browsers, except keeping your bookmarks online. It's positioned as what is essentially a "tool of convenience" plus the fun aspects of social networking. Stumbleupon.com, in my opinion, is about the cool, the unique, and sometimes bizarre things you may come across on the Web - entertainment comes to mind - for those of us who love to wander the Internet in our free time.

I'm not at all trying to split hairs, but I think it's important to identify concepts when we talk about what SearchSays is and what sort of potential it has compared to other places. Our searchers are definitely welcome to treat the engine like either aforementioned bookmarking site - and it would work, too! Personally, though, I look at SearchSays as a place we will ultimately come to find things and help other people find exactly what they need. That's what you'll find in our mission that you won't find anywhere else right now. After all, the online world is more than just favorite places or entertainment. It's also a place for howto's, buying products, research, socializing, innovation, and an endless list of other "reasons to search online".

With the launch of "The Button", we're getting very close to a product that really unifies our concept, and it will definitely help everyone who's contributing to the project now and in the future. Steadily, you'll see that we're becoming a comprehensive search resource where each of us can find a reason to continue to be active with the search engine.

- Rob C. - SearchSays.com

Day 106 - Feb. 28th, 2007
Google the Almighty.

I don't know if it's just the fact that I live near Silicon Valley, but around here it's all "Google" this and "Google" that. Of course everyone is familiar with the company, the search engine, and perhaps some of its other many products. And how can we all not be enamored by its fun personality, constant innovation, and huge success. I'll even admit it - sometimes I wish I worked there, too! (for the gourmet food if nothing else.)

On the flip-side, they're also kind of scary. The amount of influence that Google has on Internet traffic is rather tremendous, and it seems more and more webmasters are conforming to accomodate the behemoth. Even writing this blog entry makes me a little nervous, like I might incur their wrath for saying anything bad. But if you stop and think about it, so much of what we see on the Internet is filtered by what they and a very, very short list of other Internet companies show us.

I have three major problems with what's going on in regards to Google, and it's not their success that I blame. It's the fact that nobody is really doing anything about it.

On the competitor front, there really are no true alternatives. The "other guys", like Yahoo and MSN and Ask, are really just treading Google's footsteps and scrambling for whatever market share remains in their wake. There haven't been many innovative departures from the first-mover standards Google has set. Many search engine spiders are built on similar platforms, and some even borrow search results directly from Google. (They're all fairly incestuous.)

Another problem is that I think many searchers just haven't yet shown the desire to look at alternatives. There are in fact a host of other search tools out there with their own take on finding relevant, useful search results, but so far none of those services have been able to stick. Why is that? It's a hard problem to crack, but I think it comes down to brand recognition and image. As silly a thing as it is, I think people are loyal because they see that pretty rainbow logo and fall into an instant daze.

The reason I thought of this entry, actually, is due to the worst culprit of all, though - webmasters who use AdSense. I could probably go on a week long rant, but has anyone else been noticing just how generic the Internet is looking these days? For those of you who are unfamiliar, AdSense is a program for Google-provided advertisements that anyone can place on their sites to make money. Practically every site I visit now has those same banners (blue black and green usually), and it's not just the small sites anymore. Digg.com, for instances now places Google ads on their site. Perhaps it's just me, but I think there's something wrong about that. With the Internet being a supposed place for free thinking and open access, the fact that everyone uses the same advertisements seems so unoriginal.

Anyhow, I think it's time for a change. I'm not saying I think "we're it," but eventually something has got to give. I hope there will be a day when we have more alternatives and lead the Internet in a more diverse direction.

- Rob C. - SearchSays.com

Day 87 - Feb. 9th, 2007
Faces, Places, and Friends.

I'm excited to announce the launch of several new member areas that will help bring the community closer together. I've said many times that we are a search engine of people, and it's important that we can support an active social network with the common goal of cleaning up the Internet. If you haven't checked it out, we've got a new home page, too!

It was several weeks in development, but now every member of SearchSays can create a personal alias and build a profile. We're saying that everyone here is an expert. Slap up a photo, write your bio, connect with friends, and send messages just like other online communities. More importantly - share your interests and the things you know by listing your expertise. The purpose of a user-contributed search engine is to communicate and help each other find the most user-appropriate websites, and that can't be done without personalizing the experience.

I'm looking forward to this next phase of the project, especially seeing faces and getting a clearer view of each person's unique web experience. We'll still be tweaking the implementation over the next couple weeks, but that shouldn't hold you back from starting your profile, so jump right in and let us know what you think. Oh, and in case you were curious - here's my profile.

- Rob C. - SearchSays.com

Day 43 - Dec. 27th, 2006
The Race Is On!

Looks like we've got some friendly competition! Just this past week, Wikipedia owner announced that they will be releasing a user-contributed search engine sometime next year. But what about SearchSays??

Well, of course I find it an interesting proposition since we're doing something similar, and I'm interested in seeing what they come up with. I'm also not ashamed to be self-satisfied about coming out with it first! Overall I'd say it's a good thing. I believe this will give the idea of a "social network search engine" more credibility as the buzz picks up.

There have been some criticisms that Wikipedia is only looking at their bottom line, and the only reason for making this announcement so early is to increase their stock for selling purposes. Hopefully, that's not the case, however, I've been around the Internet long enough to know that the temptation is out there. Also, if they do go that direction, I have a hard time believing they can muster the support necessary to make this sort of search engine project a success.

So there you have it. Pretty soon it will be time for folks to choose sides, and which way they want their next generation search engine to be built. Even so, we're going to give Wikipedia a run for their money, though. I've been incredibly thrilled by the submissions so far, and I'm feeling the momentum building behind the SearchSays website.

- Rob C. - SearchSays.com

Day 21 - Dec. 5th, 2006
Tips on Writing a Decent Review.

There are a few things you can do to make your reviews more helpful to visiting searchers.

1.) Pick a webpage/URL that has the most relevant information for the search. This makes it easy for people to find things when they go to the site.

2.) Be specific about where to go once they get there. What part of the page is the good info on? Is there some menu item the user needs to click to get there?

3.) Relate some of your experiences with the site, both good and bad. Your advice is what people are looking to read.

4.) Have fun and show your personality. Lots of people enjoy your words as much as they do your advice.

With a little extra thought, you'll get repeat visitors who want to read more about your Internet likes and dislikes, and who may start following your tracks on the Web (not in the scary stalker way - I mean in the intrigued "let me know more" kind of way).

- Rob C. - SearchSays.com

Day 15 - Nov. 29th, 2006
Something New!

We've just launched two new features meant to give all our reviewers more influence as participants on SearchSays.

Earn Your Words Program
All members are now automatically enrolled in the Earn Your Words program. This feature makes it easier for searchers to find the reviews you've written by applying additional search phrases to each of your listings. Learn more about Earn Your Words here.

Edit Your Listings
Update your reviews to reflect your current opinion and advice. Correct those annoying typos that you may have missed the first time through. You can access this feature from the listing management page.

Our idea for a social search engine will continue to improve so that we can make the experience more fun and interesting for everyone involved.

- Rob C. - SearchSays.com

Day 14 - Nov. 28th, 2006
Man vs. Machine?

SearchSays is being built on the premise that human intelligence can create a better search engine than computer intelligence. I've talked a little bit about search engine spiders before. Essentially, most current search engines rely on computer programs to fill their listings. To put the task in perspective, spiders have to crawl the web by following links. Then, based on the text written on the visited webpages, the search engine decides what the page is about and how useful it would be for visitors. Roughly, that translates into making sure the webpage appears under the correct search terms, while putting the search results in order from "best" to "worst."

I'm not making the claim that previous search engines do a completely terrible job, or to point out the "evils of technology." In fact, what is the Internet except an entire virtual world built on computers? I do, however, believe that SearchSays will be a better solution.

Can a social search engine compete? When you look at the various pros and cons of a user-contributed search engine versus spidered search engines, the only real advantage of spidering technology is volume. If there's anything that a computer knows well, it's repetitive tasks, and a SE spider can index millions of listings for people to search with relative ease. But did you know that the vast majority of searchers never click past the second page of search results? That means for any submitted search phrase, only about the top 20 results are all that important, which cuts down the work load considerably for our community.

Now think about what people can do that computers can't. People can apply their specific knowledge of a subject to determine the relevance of a site, whereas a spider is based on a set of standardized rules that are applied equally to every website. In other words, we can be smarter about categorizing sites and harder to fool than a computer. If we as a community are able to provide more helpful, relevant listings, then why do we even need 20 results when we can probably get searchers what they need in just 10 or maybe even less?

Ultimately, we're not just talking about who can do it better, or even who's results are more relevant. The most exciting thing about SearchSays is that it is a radically different approach. Existing search engines compile search listings the same old way, often providing generic or copycat results. A social network that offers more efficient searching and unique insight into what's on the Internet has an inherent value that can make the Web a more interesting place to visit. So maybe it's not a debate of "Man vs. Machine" so much as "Man different from Machine."

- Rob C. - SearchSays.com

Day 6 - Nov. 20th, 2006
Search 2.0

Q: What is Web 2.0?

A: Web 2.0 (pronounced "web two point o") is one of the biggest Internet buzz words flying around right now, although it seems often unkown outside of the tech industry. The term is used to describe the second wave of the Internet since exiting the dot com bust of the 1990s. In the same way as before, there's a lot of money flying around from venture capital firms who are looking to invest in new Internet businesses. Whereas back then Internet startups were highly experimental and often involved eCommerce/online stores, the current trend is largely about social networking and advertising. Built upon previous failures, and following in the footsteps of "those who made it," we see a more focused approach to website production.

Why is Web 2.0 more stable? Largely, the confidence I have that Web 2.0 won't come tumbling down revolves around a few key components.

First is the fact that we see results more quickly. Businesses large and small are extremely interested in spending their advertising dollars online for a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing media (magazines, newspapers, television, radio, etc.). On a flip side, startup costs are far lower for web entrepreneurs now that they have more experience and better technology. In short, the money is there and it doesn't come out of the pockets of the end users.

That brings me to the second point - social networking. I like to think that the whole idea of online community brings us back to the roots of what makes the Internet so cool. Essentially, what we see now is that people are more interested in "sharing" than they are in "buying" online. The most popular websites are not just about chatting either - they deal in information exchange between like-minded people. The idea is simple, but if you think back to pre-Internet days, the signicance of being able link so many people together is rather unbelievable - and everyone benefits.

I'll devote the bulk of this to another blog entry, but Web 2.0 is not without its problems. Uncontrolled advertising encourages spam, and the market has yet to settle (there's still a frenzy of speculation). If you're still curious about Web 2.0, you shoud join in the fun if you haven't yet! Sites like YouTube, MySpace, Digg, and Yelp (and SearchSays!) are all part of the club, so you can experience the wave first hand.

- Rob C. - SearchSays.com

Day 3 - Nov. 17th, 2006
It's Good to Go Organic.

Launching SearchSays is a bunch of fun, and we're barely a few days out! Already, we're keeping a close eye on the feedback we've received from participants, and we'll be bringing more "community" and more "search" into the mix right away. I'm going to take some time here to outline some more of the concept, and make some predictions of my own based on what I've seen so far.

In developing the idea of SearchSays.com, it was a conscious decision to start with an un-seeded search engine. We could have very easily taken thousands and thousands of already existing websites and thrown them into the system for people to start reviewing. However, instead we've chose an organic model - one with no predetermined course. The exciting part of generating listings organically is that the personality, the tone, and the culture of the search engine community will be built and strengthened by our first wave of members. We realize that each of you have a unique perspective and diverse interests, and we want those qualities to be the driving force from the very beginning.

The organic approach is not without its challenges. I've said before that this is ultimately a numbers game. We need LOTS of people to add websites AND give their input by voting in order to outweigh any attempts made by SE spammers to infiltrate the engine. In the early stages, that means our methodology leaves us open to bogus listings simply because the numbers will be off. Over time, however, that balance of power will shift as the amount of registered members shoots up.

Right now what we have is an idea for a search engine. Granted, the tools are there on the website and our search technology is ready and eager to bring you results, but it's the everyday web surfers who will decide whether to take SearchSays from a concept to reality.

- Rob C. - SearchSays.com

Day 1 - Nov. 15th, 2006
The Beginning of the Middle.

What does it take to reshape the Internet today? Is it good timing? Is it a great idea? Is it building upon the ideas of other people? SearchSays.com is an independent project begun in the spirit of testing the Web - to see whether all the things that have made the Internet succesful in its infancy continue to thrive. The biggest difference we see now is the presence of "heavy hitters" in the marketplace. Well established Internet companies like Ebay, Amazon, Google, or Yahoo have staked out huge claims which greatly affect the ebb and flow of what we, the end users, know as the World Wide Web.

Probably the greatest influence on what we see online has been the search engines. Conservatively, over three quarters of all Internet traffic goes through a handful of companies who each claim to provide the most relevant results for specific searches. While many great gains have been made in online searching, every major search engine relies heavily on technology to do their bidding. "Spiders" are used to gather data about websites, and webpages are catagorized and ranked based on the content or number of links leading to those sites. Computers are expected to be fully intelligent and discerning when it comes to judging quality. However, if intelligent design is the goal, we believe the true solution lies in human hands. Only a live person can really say with accuracy whether a website is helpful to him or herself and to other people.

The idea for SearchSays.com is to take a search engine and combine it with online social networking. To begin, we have built a set of tools that allow end users to determine what should be listed in search results. Rather than placing the burden of defining "relevance and quality" in the hands of corporate management, some engineers, and a single computer program, we are giving that power back to web surfers everywhere. This is an arena for contribution, opinion, and interests, with diversity of thought, content, and individuality our goals.

This is a fresh start. Of course we hope the project is successful - more importantly, we hope that the end users believe it should be successful. As SearchSays grows, we expect to be held to the highest standards and wish for visitors to set new standards for Internet searching. You can continue to hear more about the fascinating world of the Web here on our blog. Thanks for visiting and enjoy the site!

- Rob C. - SearchSays.com