Mahalo Search Engine Launches. And Everyone Laughs.
Posted on May 31, 2007
Jason Calcanais launched a new human edited search engine called Mahalo.com.
There is a lot of coverage out there, including Andy, Tech Crunch, ZDNet, Threadwatch, Mashable, and Search Engine Land to name a few.
But I think Brian at Scoreboard Media said it best. Check out his review here…it’s classic.
May 31, 2007
Hey, man. Thanks for the link. I had no idea you were at Primedia. I know Howard Lim and Kenny (who I think left for another auto mag) from some mutual car friends. Primedia Auto seems like it should be one of the cooler SEO gigs out there.
May 31, 2007
Hey Brian….glad to give ya the link. The post was great.
Yea, working on the auto mags isn’t bad…..better than optimizing Dr. Phil’s crap, Cosmo, or something similarly boring.
May 31, 2007
[...] picked up this initially when getting caught up on Gerhart’s blog. (See post: Mahalo Search Engine Launches. And Everyone Laughs.) Andrew linked over to one of the best commentary pieces I’ve read in a long time. He [...]
Jun 02, 2007
Mahalo for the feedback!
I think if you look at the folks laughing they are all in the SEO space. I think it might be more of a nervous laugh than anything. If we can make Mahalo work–and I admit that is a HUGE if–it means that SEOs will not be able to trick or manipulate the search results.
So what will SEOs do if their optimization skills are neutralized? Well, I think they will focus on what they should focus on: making better sites for humans.
In many ways I’ve learned that SEOs are doing the only thing they can do: game the system. There is no way to talk to Google, Yahoo, or Ask about a search result. You can only “talk” to their algorithm.
Compare that to Mahalo where you can submit a site and discuss the result pages with a real human. Which is better for SEOs? I think it’s better for SEOs to work with use to get their clients properly ranked based on their accomplishments–not their ability to game the algorithm.
Consider this my olive branch to the SEO industry: you guys focus on making great site, Mahalo will get your clients the listing they deserve (at least for the top 1/3rd of searches.. machine search, well, keep working the system).
all the best,
Jason