blekko has (finally!) entered private beta...TechCrunch has the details on a preview of our new search engine.
Am I insane for trying to build a new search engine from scratch? Maybe... but blekko is pretty cool anyway. :-)
blekko is introducing a novel search syntax we call slashtags. Using simple tags to refine your queries (e.g. /date, /demblogs, /people, /health, /satire, etc.), you can quickly filter search results to just the sites you want, change the way results are sorted, and more.
We have hundreds of slashtags you can get started with on blekko, plus we have a toolbox to let you make and share your own.
Furthermore, we intend to be fully open about our crawl and rank data for the web. We don't believe security through obscurity is the best way to drive search ranking quality forward. So we have a set of tools on blekko.com which let you understand what factors are driving our rankings, and let you dive behind any url or site to see what their web search footprint looks like.
So what took so long? It turns out that it's really friggin hard to build a search engine from scratch. Especially a good one. We've built our system from the ground up, with a multi-billion page index, a prioritized crawl, and new ranking and anti-spam technology. We also have a ton of classifiers firing on every url we crawl, many of which are powering built-in slashtags.
Drop me a note if you'd like to get on the list for our private beta. It really is a beta, we still have some bugs to shake out before opening the site completely. But we could use your help to shake out the system before our launch.
I'll leave you with blekko's founding principles. We call them the Web Search Bill of Rights:
- Search shall be open
- Search results shall involve people
- Ranking data shall not be kept secret
- Web data shall be readily available
- There is no one-size-fits-all for search
- Advanced search shall be accessible
- Search engine tools shall be open to all
- Search & community go hand-in-hand
- Spam does not belong in search results
- Privacy of searchers shall not be violated
Here is my co-founder Mike's take on why blekko is cool.
Comments (42)
I'd love to have an invite, Rich.
Max
Posted by Max Niederhofer | July 19, 2010 3:37 PM
Posted on July 19, 2010 15:37
Sounds really interesting, and some nice idea's you got there. Best of luck!
- an invite would be great too :)
J
Posted by Josh | July 19, 2010 4:03 PM
Posted on July 19, 2010 16:03
Sounds really interesting, add me to the beta list please.
Posted by Ian George | July 19, 2010 4:05 PM
Posted on July 19, 2010 16:05
yep, an invite to blekko would be kickass. thanks!
Posted by Tom | July 19, 2010 4:13 PM
Posted on July 19, 2010 16:13
Congratulations. It's been a long time coming.
As for an invite...yes, please.
Posted by Aaron H. | July 19, 2010 4:43 PM
Posted on July 19, 2010 16:43
I'd love to test drive blekko.
Posted by Ryan Shaw | July 19, 2010 4:56 PM
Posted on July 19, 2010 16:56
Hi Rich, I've been waiting for this day for years! Would love an invite to try and test at early doors.
Good luck with the launch,
Anphicle
Posted by Anphicle | July 19, 2010 5:02 PM
Posted on July 19, 2010 17:02
Hey Rich,
Congrats! The Skrentablog has been quiet for awhile...too quiet. Nice to see it paying off.
I too would love to check it out in beta.
-Matthew
Posted by Matthew Brown | July 19, 2010 5:15 PM
Posted on July 19, 2010 17:15
Congrats Rich. An invite would be nice :)
Posted by Saravana | July 19, 2010 6:13 PM
Posted on July 19, 2010 18:13
Looks interesting... I'd love to see the beta.
Posted by Chris | July 19, 2010 6:32 PM
Posted on July 19, 2010 18:32
Hi, Rich, congrats on the private launch! I'd love an invite, thanks!
Posted by Greg Linden | July 19, 2010 6:52 PM
Posted on July 19, 2010 18:52
Congrats and Wishing you the very best.
I would like an invite too.
Thanks.
Posted by Ganesh | July 19, 2010 7:31 PM
Posted on July 19, 2010 19:31
Hey Rich,
Am really looking forward to seeing it. Please put me on the invite list. Thanks!
Posted by Mike Cafarella | July 19, 2010 7:48 PM
Posted on July 19, 2010 19:48
I would love an invite :)
Posted by aaron wall | July 19, 2010 9:06 PM
Posted on July 19, 2010 21:06
I would like to have an invite to the private beta.......best wishes for team blekko......
Posted by manu | July 19, 2010 9:29 PM
Posted on July 19, 2010 21:29
Hello Rich,
Congrats on approaching Beta launch! Like your strategy of making the search/ranking criteria open.
I always felt that the notion of secrecy to prevent misuse, of search engine rankings, was flawed. The state of SEO is nearly as bad as that of 'keyword stuffing' in the late 90s - just that it doesn't appear so bad, because of results being just 'relevant enough'.
Wish you folks all the very best. We really need some meaningful competition in search!
Posted by Khushnood Naqvi | July 19, 2010 10:33 PM
Posted on July 19, 2010 22:33
Sounds very interesting! Do you have an invite for me?
Posted by Rolf Strathewerd | July 19, 2010 11:25 PM
Posted on July 19, 2010 23:25
Sounds cool! Can I get an invite?
Posted by arib | July 20, 2010 12:14 AM
Posted on July 20, 2010 00:14
Congrats on the beta. Would love an invite, thanks!
Posted by Michael | July 20, 2010 12:28 AM
Posted on July 20, 2010 00:28
Awesome news, would really love to be involved with the beta
Posted by garren | July 20, 2010 2:14 AM
Posted on July 20, 2010 02:14
I would love an invite. The idea of openness is very appealling.
Best of luck, (and work hard)
Cheers.
Posted by Leslie | July 20, 2010 2:54 AM
Posted on July 20, 2010 02:54
An invite would be really cool, thanks!
Posted by Jan | July 20, 2010 5:35 AM
Posted on July 20, 2010 05:35
This sounds great, I would love an invite!
Posted by JC | July 20, 2010 10:31 AM
Posted on July 20, 2010 10:31
You have my full support, your slashtag function looks extremely enticing for someone who searches on the web as much as I do. Please do include me on your beta testing list, I would love to provide feedback and input.
Posted by David Chai | July 20, 2010 1:37 PM
Posted on July 20, 2010 13:37
You have my full support, your slashtag function looks extremely enticing for someone who searches on the web as much as I do. Please do include me on your beta testing list, I would love to provide feedback and input.
David Chai
Posted by David Chai | July 20, 2010 1:38 PM
Posted on July 20, 2010 13:38
I'd love an invite :=
Posted by Fredrik | July 20, 2010 3:46 PM
Posted on July 20, 2010 15:46
Good news, I'd love an invite, thanks.
Posted by Andrew | July 20, 2010 8:31 PM
Posted on July 20, 2010 20:31
Having glimpsed behind the velvet curtain on TechCrunch I'd be absolutely delighted to get an invite. Pretty please?
Posted by Liam Delahunty | July 21, 2010 7:55 AM
Posted on July 21, 2010 07:55
I'm interested to see the results, I'd like to be on the invite list too :)
Posted by Gary Sieling | July 21, 2010 1:25 PM
Posted on July 21, 2010 13:25
I'd like to be in the beta!
Posted by Nancy Calafati | July 21, 2010 2:33 PM
Posted on July 21, 2010 14:33
Sounds very cool: would love an invite :)
Posted by David Pendray | July 21, 2010 6:37 PM
Posted on July 21, 2010 18:37
Would be great to get an invite!
Joris van Hoboken
Posted by Joris van Hoboken | July 23, 2010 7:10 AM
Posted on July 23, 2010 07:10
Been begging for on invite since I was follower ~300 on twitter.
Please please please set me up! :)
Posted by Andy Myers | July 23, 2010 1:25 PM
Posted on July 23, 2010 13:25
I'd live an invite thanks Rick.
Posted by Simon Jacques | July 23, 2010 7:46 PM
Posted on July 23, 2010 19:46
Great project - I strongly support the open approach to crawl and rank data - this is the future of search.
If you can add to that a search engine team that is approachable for people with issues, that blogs regularly and responds publicly to queries, then this could be a paradigm shift in the search industry. A paradigm that is much more in line with online policies in other industries.
The era of big powerful businesses hiding behind their websites is over. The era of engagement and user power is dawning. User experience is everything.
Posted by Ben Acheson | July 24, 2010 9:28 AM
Posted on July 24, 2010 09:28
Very interesting. I would like to take part in the tests. As a citizen from a Portuguese speaking country (Brazil), I'd like to know if blekko will support other idioms beyond english. Thanks!
Posted by kerick | July 25, 2010 10:48 AM
Posted on July 25, 2010 10:48
Thank you for the invite. I'm really enjoying using Blekko.
Posted by Liam Delahunty | July 29, 2010 5:45 AM
Posted on July 29, 2010 05:45
I would also love to get an invite to see what's behind Blekko and am much looking forward to it
Posted by Peter Jacobs | July 29, 2010 5:52 AM
Posted on July 29, 2010 05:52
Hello,
Very exciting to see a new search product! Would love to get an invite as well
thanks!
Posted by Eric Garrison | July 29, 2010 10:03 AM
Posted on July 29, 2010 10:03
Blekko seems to be promising. I wants to look it from inside.
Thx in advance
Posted by Niel | July 29, 2010 10:31 AM
Posted on July 29, 2010 10:31
Would love an invite if possible?
Posted by Aidan | July 29, 2010 8:55 PM
Posted on July 29, 2010 20:55
Hey Rich,
Congrats! The Skrentablog has been quiet for a bit. Nice to see it paying off.
I too would love to check it out in beta.
-Simon
Posted by Simon Baker | September 23, 2010 12:37 PM
Posted on September 23, 2010 12:37