Mahalo.com

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For other uses, see Mahalo.
Mahalo.com, Inc.
Type Internet
Genre Search Engine
Founded 2007
Founder Jason Calacanis
Headquarters Santa Monica, California, USA
Key people Jason Calacanis, Founding CEO.

Elliot C.R. Cook: COO

Mark Jeffrey: CTO
Revenue Unknown, Startup May 2007
Employees 55
Slogan "We're here to help."
Website Mahalo.com
Type of site Web directory
Advertising Google AdSense
Available in English
Launched May 30, 2007
Current status beta test

Mahalo.com is a web directory (or human search engine) launched in alpha test in May 2007 by Jason Calacanis. As of January 2008, the project is in beta test. It differentiates itself from algorithmic search engines like Google and Ask.com, as well as other directory sites like DMOZ and Yahoo by tracking and building hand-crafted result sets for many of the currently popular search terms.[1][2] Mahalo means "thank you" in Hawaiian.

Contents

[edit] Directory

Mahalo's directory employs human editors to review websites and write search engine results pages that include text listings, as well as other media, such as photos and video. Each Mahalo search results page includes links to the top seven sites, as well as other categorized information, and additional web pages from Google.[2] The company also pays freelancers to create pages for piecework compensation in the Mahalo Greenhouse - the pages are approved by a full time staff member prior to appearing in the main index. [3][4]

Mahalo's approach is similar to Ask.com's strategy from 1998. At that time both Ask and Google were up-and-coming search engines. Ultimately Google prevailed because Ask had trouble scaling up its human edited directory, and Google's search results were generated by software.

Mahalo has started with the top 4,000 search terms in popular categories like travel, entertainment, cars, food, health care and sports and is adding about 500 more terms per week with a goal of covering the top 10,000 by the end of 2007.[1][2] This goal has been exceeded when, in December 2007, Mahalo announced that its index has reached 25,000 pages, a year earlier than it was expected. [5][6]
Mahalo also offers "how to" guides offering instructions on popular topics in an editorial fashion. For less popular, or long tail, searches, Mahalo will deliver results from Google.

[edit] Search results quality

Mahalo's goal is to improve search results by eliminating search spam from low-quality websites, such as those that have excessive advertising, distribute malware, or engage in phishing scams.[7] Webmasters have a vested interest to see their sites listed. Calacanis has said that algorithmic search engines, like Google and Yahoo, suffer from manipulation by search engine optimization practitioners. Mahalo's reliance on human editors is intended to avoid this problem, producing search results that are more relevant to the user.[1]

[edit] Other human-assisted search services

Yahoo Answers has 90 million users who ask and answer questions for each other.[2] Wikia, founded by Jimmy Wales, has started working on Wikia Search, a human-powered search engine.[8] Sites like ChaCha, NosyJoe.com and Sproose also incorporate a human element into search.[9][10]

[edit] Mahalo Daily Video Show

Veronica Belmont was hired by Mahalo.com to produce a daily video show for the site. Her first video was an interview with Leeroy Jenkins. Belmont left Mahalo Daily to co-host the Revision3 series Tekzilla. After a month-long search, Belmont's replacement was announced on June 5, 2008. Former cable sports show host Leah D'Emilio won Mahalo Vlog Idol and now co-hosts the show with Mahalo.com employee Lon Harris.

[edit] Critics

Jim Lanzone, CEO of Ask.com said, "Just like a lot of people who watch movies think they can be scriptwriters, there are a lot of people who use search engines who think they can build a search engine." Lanzone cited the fact that about 60% of search inquiries to Ask are unique as just one of the challenges of running a search engine.[1] Google claims that 20% to 25% of its search inquiries have never been used before.[2]

At the SMX Conference in June 2007, Google software engineer Matt Cutts explained that while he supports different approaches to search, like Mahalo, it is untrue that humans have nothing to do with Google's search results. As examples of human involvement he cited Google's use of hyperlink analysis, toolbar voting, and user reporting of spam. Cutts suggested that Google would evolve to take advantage of social media.[10]

[edit] Ownership and funding

Lead investors in Mahalo.com include Sequoia Capital's Michael Moritz, an early investor in both Google and Yahoo; Elon Musk, founder of PayPal; and News Corporation.[11][12] Other disclosed investors include Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and AOL chairman Ted Leonsis[13] Jason Calacanis has said that he has enough funding to run Mahalo for four or five years without making a profit. Mahalo eventually hopes to make a profit by selling ads next to search results.[1]

[edit] Traffic and growth

Mahalo has experienced rapid growth since launch in May 2007. Mahalo.com traffic has increased from roughly ten thousand visitors a month in July of 2007, to two million visitors a month in January of 2008. [14] In the three month period leading up to the date of February 23 2008, the number of global internet users who visited Mahalo.com rose by fifty percent, and the site is currently ranked by Alexa in the top 3000 most visited websites by Alexa toolbar users. [15]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e People Power Fuels New Search Engine. sfgate.com (May 30, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-06-04.
  2. ^ a b c d e Start-Up Adds a Human Touch. Wall Street Journal (May 31, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-06-04.
  3. ^ CommsDay | The Home of the CommsDay Family of Newsletters and Events
  4. ^ Mahalo Greenhouse
  5. ^ Mahalo breaks 25000 pages and announces creative commons license
  6. ^ [ http://startupbeat.com/sub/2007/12/mahalo_releases_social_search_service_id2130.html Mahalo releases social search service]
  7. ^ New search engine adds human touch to info gathering. mercurynews.com (June 4, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-06-04.
  8. ^ Mahalo Launches With Human-Crafted Search Results. Search Engine Land (May 30, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-06-04.
  9. ^ Mahalo Launches a Well-funded Human Powered Search. Mashable (May 30, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-06-04.
  10. ^ a b You&A With Matt Cutts. Search Engine Roundtable (June 4, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-06-04.
  11. ^ Mahalo Press Release. mahalo.com (primary source) (May 30, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
  12. ^ Adios Magellan, Looksmart, Mahalo, whatever your name is. vcratings.thedealblogs.com (May 31, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-06-04.
  13. ^ Human power at heart of new Web search site. contracostatimes.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-04.
  14. ^ SnapShot of Mahalo.com Compete.com Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
  15. ^ Mahalo.com - Traffic Details from Alexa Alexa.com Retrieved on 2008-03-19.

[edit] External links