The largest threat to Google yet?
January 7th, 2008 • Google, Search, Social
Wikia Search went live today.
So what? So it’s the brainchild of one Jimmy Whales, the clever chap who brought you Wikipedia. So there’s just a remote chance that it may fly.
The search results are, so far, pretty damn poor, and many of the preferences do not work. But as the world gets stuck in and begins to rate those returns, so they’ll improve (tricky right now, as the star ratings that accompany each entry in a return are disabled), and doubtless the various features will get switched on in the coming weeks.
I created a profile in minutes: register, and it prompts you to create a profile page with such vital social stats as your favourite music and movies. Nice, but I’d prefer to flaunt this blog and my Flickr profile, thanks.
But once registered, you can edit. Run a search, and you’ll see a Mini Guide entry that should be relevant to your string. If there isn’t an entry already there, you’re asked to start one. It’s that easy.
Thing is, I reckon every business in the world will pile in once the word gets around: although you’re warned not to spam, the temptation to big up the thing that pays your wages is too great to resist.
Which is precisely the thing that Wikipedia suffers from. But then, the value of Wikipedia vastly outweighs any downsides - and even in this early alpha phase, it’s clear that Wikia has the same potential.
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