Cuil, pronounced ’cool’, was launched yesterday as a new challenger to Google.  The credentials were good, big money backing and a number of ex-Google staffers on the team.  Despite, or perhaps because of the barrage of publicity, the launch has been widely regarded as a flop.  Why? Because the volume of coverage generated such a volume of traffic that the site couldn’t cope.  It ran slowly and some of the search results were surprising.   

I tried an acid test.  I searched for ‘Cuil’ in Google.  A news story on the launch appeared at number 1 and the site itself was at number two.  I then searched for ‘Cuil’ in Cuil; no such luck.  Towns and villages in Sligo, French cuisine, Lochaber, scenic sights in Scotland and even some Gaelic results but no search engine came up and it was definitely lacking in ‘Cuil’.   

Have a look at another search engine called Scour.  It launched very recently with far less of a fanfare but it’s interesting because it aggregates searches from other engines; Google, Yahoo and MSN.  It is also the first social media search engine because it allows users to rate searches which should improve its functionality over time.  Now search for  ’Scour’ in Cuil and it comes in at number one!  What’s more is Scour actually pays registered users for every search they carry out.  Now my money’s on that. 

  It’s a sorry sight to see Yahoo thrashing around trying to compete in a changing world. They were the future once! Today they’ve launched a new website for women, already a crowded market.

This is the announcement from the press release.Yahoo has launched a site for women between ages 25 and 54, calling it a key demographic underserved by current Yahoo properties. The site is called Shine.Yahoo said advertisers in consumer-packaged goods; retail and pharmaceuticals have requested more ways to reach those consumers.

25-54 seems like rather a broad target but as I’m no expert, I consulted somebody who is, Catherine Rees, Head of Consumer for Staniforth/ (the PR agency I work for). Here’s what she said: I’ve had a look at it and I’m disappointed. I’d already read the Elle interview with Madonna so that’s old news. I’d expect Yahoo to be telling me new stuff and be ahead of print media.

When I see that female interests are fashion, food, health and love I want to scream and yawn at the same time. It’s just so predictable and    something I already get from the mags I read and sites I visit.  When will someone be brave enough to stop clumping all women together and realise that we have wider interests and attitudes?  Even the career section is about sleeping with work colleagues. Add something on there about politics, business, women in the news not just shopping and sh*gging.   So there! 

The future online is in catering for specific audiences in terms of the kind of clubs you go to, the way you live, how much you earn or having a sharper aggregation model. Jeff Jarvis puts it nicely.

This is as good an excuse as any to re-live that Harry Enfield sketch!