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Mahalo launches, my critical review… haven’t we seen this already? A master SEO gaming?
Update: Jason has sorta replied to the SEO question… check out his reply
So let's get right to it. Earlier today, TechCrunch posted an exclusive about a new search engine founded by his conference partner, the Silicon Valley Superstar Jason Calacanis. I have spent the last 30 minutes using it and here are my findings.
Called Mahalo, meaning "Thank you", this is a "human-powered search engine" says Arrington. Mahalo states their objective as, "Mahalo's goal is to hand-write the top 10,000 search terms." It seems most of the "top tech bloggers" made it in, they must be somewhere in the top 10k, I learned something new today. Actually, their technology page shows a lot more completed pages. So from what I can tell, it might be top 10k plus other "hot" names. Which got me thinking… see below.
So I guess CenterNetworks will never have a page! And neither will the other 24 billion web sites and search terms. We just get the same-ole Google results. Though there are no ads (I guess for now?) so that's a good thing.
It appears to use a Wiki engine for the technology which will help to keep costs down along with (what I assume) a network of very low paid offshore staff to make the pages.
Item #1 - Human Search or Human Directory?
I am not sure I get why this is a "human search" when it really is more of a "human directory" - right? Or am I missing something? Either way, maintaining those pages will be an ultra-bitch. What happens when new "gossip" needs to be added about someone, how will those pages stay up-to-date?
Item #2 - Mahalo vs. AboutUs
Now let's get back to my title. First, what's the difference between Mahalo and AboutUs.com? Both Wikis. Mahalo looks better. AboutUs allows me to edit my page. I don't see much else that's different honestly. As much as I bashed AboutUs when it launched, Ray will never have the pull that Jason will so eventually Mahalo will overtake AboutUs even though I prefer the ability to edit my own page.
Item #3 - Sustainability
Will it be possible to create a "live" search engine from this? I doubt it. Maintaining 10,000 (2008-25k) will be nearly impossible without hiring every available content person in most of the world. Another reason this is a directory, not a search engine.
Item #4 - Gaming the real search engines
More importantly, I have the same concern with Mahalo as I did with AboutUs. This is the ultimate way to "game" Google/Yahoo/etc. Create a page that highlights x person, get Mahalo up to a high page rank (with links like the one I just provided) and now traffic is sent to Mahalo instead of to the person/company web site. These type of web sites should not have a pagerank nor should be listed within the search engines. It is interesting to me that after all of Jason's talk about SEO being dead, he launches the master SEO play.
Summary
Will this get some play? Sure, it's like if Apple put out a half-baked iPod. Would it still sell millions? Yep. I just don't see the value here. And while this might get to be the "answer" for the Silicon Valley/San Francisco crowd, I can't picture my mother using this with her mahjong friends over Googling-it.
WatchMojo has a good writeup about the service and why it may or may not work.
I believe they are building a quality directory for the major players to use in serps. I don’t think this is a search engine, this is going to be Google’s new directory after they buy Mahalo within two years.
Your grandma will not have to decide between Mahalo and Google. Mahalo is being built to compliment and better Google’s results so your grandma will not have to look at spam. Mahalo will replace corrupt dmoz.
Of course this comment is not based on fact. Just my opinion.
I completely agree with your points. Mahalo will be nothing more than a spiffier About.com Read more here -> http://www.russellheimlich.com/blog/mahalo-an-about-wikipedia-hybrid/
1. Search or directory? We’re a hybrid. We have a category system so folks can use the directory approach, but we present our results like search engine results. However, our pages have a peer/audience review model, so we’re sort of like delicious/digg too. For this reason I think you might want to use the term “search service.” Of course, this is ALPHA… you’re only seeing a fraction of what we have planned.
2. AboutUs seems to be a directory of people and places… we’re more of a search result. Also, they let anyone edit the page while we maintain the page with feedback and debate (on the message boards). I think it’s two very different things. AboutUs seems more like WhoIs or Spock–I think AboutUs might be something we link to frankly.
3. Sustainability. Well, people told me that Weblogs, Inc. would not be sustainable four years ago. However, we hit 300 bloggers and 10,000+ blog posts a month. We did that with very little resources. We have much deeper resources now so we will have no problem getting from 4,000 to 10,000 to 25,000 results–it will just take a LOT of time. That is why I funded the company so deeply. Additionally, we hope the audience will help us make these page better. Take a look at the Twitter or Apple SeRP and you’ll see the public is already sending in quality links.
4. Are we an SEO master? If Google wants to index us well that’s fine with us, but our model is not based on being well indexed in Google or Yahoo. Our model is in creating human curated search results that are very helpful to users. Compare the product to the product and let me know what you think. Compare iPhone, Paris Hotels, Pizza, and Flatpanel TV on Mahalo to those same searches on google, yahoo, ask, msn, and wikipedia. That is what this is really about… not these other issues.
I actually like Mahalo, in concept. The question is, will I trust their editors to give me the good stuff. At a first glance, I like what I see more than the similar page one results from Google, but the breadth of topic coverage is not quite there.
I agree with your point that Mahalo pages may very likely climb quickly in standard search results (much like Wikipedia). I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing, although it is frustrating from the publisher’s perspective when the source doesn’t rank as high as the page that references it.
Whether Mahalo will catch on or not ultimately is a matter of trust. What or who do I trust more? Google’s relevance algorhythm or Mahalo’s editors?
More of my initial impressions of Mahalo.
@jason. So it is not clear to me how Mahalo is different than Yahoo was 15 years ago. Please explain…
Time to rehash the old business models and the failed websites to see if adding some tags and a shiny new label will make them pay big enough (at least for a short period of time) to provide some mega cash for their founders.
Way to go Jason! Is Pets.com 2.0 your next bit of secretive genius? How about Webvan 2.0?
As the subject says: this seems like a watered down About.com layered over Google results for less popular terms.
There’s no there there.
Nothing’s changing in the search industry that’s going to knock off Google.
Do you remember when Google appeared? It blew AltaVista and HotBot out of the freaking water.
This is going to be a blip.
I’m not sold on Mahalo either - you can see a post on my blog at http://www.marketersstudio.com/2007/05/mahalo_mahohum.html
@jason & @ Zoof
Actually how is this concept different then AOL was 15 years ago? Why are we retreating back to internet v.05? I thought we took a vote and decided to move into internet 3.0 by 2010?
This is similar to mahalo - http://en.dabu.pl
However, it is more extended in polish version - http://dabu.pl