Comments on: Is Cuil the Internet startup Joke of the Year? http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/is-cuil-the-internet-startup-joke-of-the-year/ Blog about Search Engine Optimization and Internet marketing Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:23:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Johnson http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/is-cuil-the-internet-startup-joke-of-the-year/#comment-3449 Johnson Wed, 20 May 2009 00:23:58 +0000 http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/?p=424#comment-3449 Anyone who invested in Cuil was a Fuil. Anyone who invested in Cuil was a Fuil.

]]> By: Stuey http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/is-cuil-the-internet-startup-joke-of-the-year/#comment-2555 Stuey Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:11:47 +0000 http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/?p=424#comment-2555 For something that heralded itself as focusing purely on the basics Ie the number of pages it can take results from it certainly seems to have a tough time retrieving relevant results. I'd very much like to see a profile of what sites make up it's 121,617,892,992 entries. A promising beginning but I think they've used up all the hype-credit they generated with their initial launch. Check again in 3 months or so I think. For something that heralded itself as focusing purely on the basics Ie the number of pages it can take results from it certainly seems to have a tough time retrieving relevant results. I’d very much like to see a profile of what sites make up it’s 121,617,892,992 entries.

A promising beginning but I think they’ve used up all the hype-credit they generated with their initial launch.

Check again in 3 months or so I think.

]]> By: Will http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/is-cuil-the-internet-startup-joke-of-the-year/#comment-2525 Will Sat, 09 Aug 2008 21:47:41 +0000 http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/?p=424#comment-2525 @Jennifer, I have fooled with me.dium, and I think it's solid. The concept is excellent (as long as you can control manipulation), and the detailed level of stat reporting is nice. @wordvixen, I can't imagine people telling each other to "just Cuil it" either. But I also can't imagine them saying "just Yahoo it" or "just Live it." On the other hand, I can imagine people telling each other to "me.dium it up." @Tannaz, true, they have done a good job engendering attention. But they weren't ready for it. @Tim, I agree. They should have created a form to make it easier to report results desperately in need of seasoning. @Morgan, funny story. @Jennifer, I have fooled with me.dium, and I think it’s solid. The concept is excellent (as long as you can control manipulation), and the detailed level of stat reporting is nice.

@wordvixen, I can’t imagine people telling each other to “just Cuil it” either. But I also can’t imagine them saying “just Yahoo it” or “just Live it.” On the other hand, I can imagine people telling each other to “me.dium it up.”

@Tannaz, true, they have done a good job engendering attention. But they weren’t ready for it.

@Tim, I agree. They should have created a form to make it easier to report results desperately in need of seasoning.

@Morgan, funny story.

]]> By: morgan http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/is-cuil-the-internet-startup-joke-of-the-year/#comment-2521 morgan Fri, 08 Aug 2008 23:11:37 +0000 http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/?p=424#comment-2521 Ah, Cuil, the search engine now everyone loves to loathe. I was sitting in a meeting with people who consider themselves relatively computer literate and search savvy when someone brought up the subject of Cuil. Many people not knowing what it was, we did what most people do who have a large computer monitor at their disposal: we went to the site up for everyone to…um…admire. Which, sadly, was about as far as we got. We popped in a few search terms, got some results and that's when the hilarity ensued. "What's the top result?" "How come there's so much real estate taken up by pictures and what are those sentences?" "Why doesn't anything line up, it looks like a five-year-old put this together." At this point, we had to surf away because the room was breaking down into sheer silliness. Do I think The Google Machine needs some competition? Without a doubt. Is Cuil it? All signs point to no. Kudos to them though for making such a mess of it…I fully agree that a soft launch was the only sensible way to go. Ah, Cuil, the search engine now everyone loves to loathe. I was sitting in a meeting with people who consider themselves relatively computer literate and search savvy when someone brought up the subject of Cuil. Many people not knowing what it was, we did what most people do who have a large computer monitor at their disposal: we went to the site up for everyone to…um…admire.

Which, sadly, was about as far as we got. We popped in a few search terms, got some results and that’s when the hilarity ensued. “What’s the top result?” “How come there’s so much real estate taken up by pictures and what are those sentences?” “Why doesn’t anything line up, it looks like a five-year-old put this together.” At this point, we had to surf away because the room was breaking down into sheer silliness. Do I think The Google Machine needs some competition? Without a doubt. Is Cuil it? All signs point to no. Kudos to them though for making such a mess of it…I fully agree that a soft launch was the only sensible way to go.

]]> By: Tim http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/is-cuil-the-internet-startup-joke-of-the-year/#comment-2520 Tim Fri, 08 Aug 2008 03:30:59 +0000 http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/?p=424#comment-2520 I agree with the statement they should have gone with a soft launch (beta) rather then saying here is the best we can do, enjoy. Like most people the first time I used the site will also be my last. Problems: > IMHO the site looks like it was designed by a programmer, not a designer. > Having to send an email to them when you get no results is a joke when anybody with a clue simply would have had the code add that search term to an exception list for manual/automatic review. > How do you add your url to cuil? even their own search feature doesn't return a result. > A simple 'make this my homepage' link could have bought some repeat traffic, again, not there. > As most bloggers across the net have pointed out the results in most cases are irrelevant. the old adage first impressions count are all to true with start ups and essentially cuil is one ugly duck! I agree with the statement they should have gone with a soft launch (beta) rather then saying here is the best we can do, enjoy.

Like most people the first time I used the site will also be my last.

Problems:
> IMHO the site looks like it was designed by a programmer, not a designer.
> Having to send an email to them when you get no results is a joke when anybody with a clue simply would have had the code add that search term to an exception list for manual/automatic review.
> How do you add your url to cuil? even their own search feature doesn’t return a result.
> A simple ‘make this my homepage’ link could have bought some repeat traffic, again, not there.
> As most bloggers across the net have pointed out the results in most cases are irrelevant.

the old adage first impressions count are all to true with start ups and essentially cuil is one ugly duck!

]]> By: Tannaz http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/is-cuil-the-internet-startup-joke-of-the-year/#comment-2519 Tannaz Thu, 07 Aug 2008 23:06:23 +0000 http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/?p=424#comment-2519 Cuil would be cooler with a niche like many other search engines out there (eg www.NextBio.com) It is tough when you fail to deliver what you promised. Maybe a little bit of humbleness could have paid off (specially when competing with the "Big G") However, they have done a great job being noticed and spoken about. In the spirit of full disclosure I am an intern at NextBio and amazed with their search engine and what they offer to the life science community. Cuil would be cooler with a niche like many other search engines out there (eg http://www.NextBio.com) It is tough when you fail to deliver what you promised. Maybe a little bit of humbleness could have paid off (specially when competing with the “Big G”) However, they have done a great job being noticed and spoken about.

In the spirit of full disclosure I am an intern at NextBio and amazed with their search engine and what they offer to the life science community.

]]> By: wordvixen http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/is-cuil-the-internet-startup-joke-of-the-year/#comment-2518 wordvixen Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:46:26 +0000 http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/?p=424#comment-2518 I'm so out of the loop. Until I saw the tweet for this post, I thought "cuil" was another attempt at re-spelling "cool" like they tried in the 90's with "kewl". *sigh* Honestly, a name like Cuil isn't going to help their marketing efforts since you don't automatically know how to pronounce it. I can't ever see people telling someone to just "cuil it". I’m so out of the loop. Until I saw the tweet for this post, I thought “cuil” was another attempt at re-spelling “cool” like they tried in the 90′s with “kewl”. *sigh*

Honestly, a name like Cuil isn’t going to help their marketing efforts since you don’t automatically know how to pronounce it. I can’t ever see people telling someone to just “cuil it”.

]]> By: Shell Harris http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/is-cuil-the-internet-startup-joke-of-the-year/#comment-2517 Shell Harris Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:10:59 +0000 http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/?p=424#comment-2517 I agree with your observations, Will. I also hope they will become a force on the Net, but I have my serious doubts. Google is too big and too powerful now. This country thrives on competition and the Big G certainly needs some of that. I agree with your observations, Will. I also hope they will become a force on the Net, but I have my serious doubts. Google is too big and too powerful now. This country thrives on competition and the Big G certainly needs some of that.

]]> By: Jenniferlauren http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/is-cuil-the-internet-startup-joke-of-the-year/#comment-2516 Jenniferlauren Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:55:26 +0000 http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/?p=424#comment-2516 It’s hard to imagine Cuil doing anything but incremental changes to what Google’s done. And even that would take years of effort. Me.dium.com has taken a different tack. We have a full web index, but we change the search results based on the surfing activity of our user base (now over 2,000,000). It’s in alpha, but I’d be curious to hear your thoughts. http://me.dium.com/search Feel free to email me with any questions, Jboyle@me.dium.com It’s hard to imagine Cuil doing anything but incremental changes to what Google’s done. And even that would take years of effort.

Me.dium.com has taken a different tack. We have a full web index, but we change the search results based on the surfing activity of our user base (now over 2,000,000). It’s in alpha, but I’d be curious to hear your thoughts. http://me.dium.com/search

Feel free to email me with any questions, Jboyle@me.dium.com

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