Jan

10

I Like-A Do The ChaCha.

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

January 10, 2008 |

When I read in the Chicago Tribune that a new search engine called ChaCha was now available, my first thought was, “Does the world really need another search engine?” I’m still not sure of the answer that question, especially after reading in SearchTank about one user’s less than stellar experience. ChaCha offers the new feature of allowing users to text questions from their cell phones, and will be the official text-messaging service of the Sundance Film Festival. Wait a minute. A film festival needs an official text-messaging service? Anyway, there seems to be little else that sets it apart from its big competitors like Google, Yahoo, and even Ask. In fact there seems to be very little that sets these search engines apart from each other, aside from superficial differences in the look and feel of each. I’m sure there’s a lot of technological gobbledygook that I wouldn’t understand that explains exactly why each one is superior to the others, but even if I could understand it the gobbledygook is mostly proprietary.

The only search engine I know of that is truly unique, in its look anyway, is Ms. Dewey, and it just proves the old adage that different ain’t necessarily better. Or even good. Ms. Dewey is the search engine equivalent of infotainment. If a cute girl in a low-cut blouse who looks coquettish, shoots rubber bands at the screen, makes silly remarks about your searches (one of her responses to a search for “art” is “Ah, the arts! The last refuge of the mathematically challenged!”) and, if you leave her alone too long, taps on your monitor and asks, “Anyone there?” is your thing, then Ms. Dewey is the search engine for you. If you’re actually looking for information, look somewhere else.

What really sets ChaCha apart from other search engines is that a human guide will step in and assist users with searches if the initial query doesn’t give them what they’re looking for. In this way it’s adopting a model that libraries have used for a very long time. Can’t find what you need? Ask a librarian. The problem for ChaCha and other search engines that adopt human guides, though, will likely be the same problem that libraries have faced since before Alexandria went up in smoke. How do you effectively organize a huge amount of information to direct users to exactly what they need? And in the digital age there’s a new twist. Search engines are competing with each other, but, behind the scenes, what search engine will the guides use?


Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. Chris on January 10, 2008 7:42 pm

    I see it a bit differently. If you can ask a question and get to the person that knows the answer and then have it provided to you quickly, in a way that allows you to carry it in your pocket, then I like it. I use the library all the time, but I also don’t have access to it when I’m at the airport checking in or negotiating for a new car or lost in a new city. This seems to be a good be different than traditional search. ChaCha provides me answers, not 10,000 results in .002 seconds.

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