Go Shopping, Be Social

If you’re into search startups, then today’s a great day to check out what a couple of them are up to.

TheFind just launched (or relaunched?) a “buying engine” that aspires “to help every shopper find exactly what they want to buy, and to help every merchant, large and small, to reach those shoppers.” It has some nice interface elements, but I can’t say I’m sold on the overall user experience.

Meanwhile, Aardvark just launched a web-based version of its social search application. The site urges users to “ask any question in plain English, and Aardvark will discover the perfect person in your network to answer… in under 5 minutes!” As I’ve commented before, I think they need to embrace the philosophy of “when in doubt, make it public.” But hey, they made the Time’s top 50 websites for 2009, so perhaps they are right to ignore my advice.

Link to original post …

If you’re into search startups, then today’s a great day to check out what a couple of them are up to.

TheFind just launched (or relaunched?) a “buying engine” that aspires “to help every shopper find exactly what they want to buy, and to help every merchant, large and small, to reach those shoppers.” It has some nice interface elements, but I can’t say I’m sold on the overall user experience.

Meanwhile, Aardvark just launched a web-based version of its social search application. The site urges users to “ask any question in plain English, and Aardvark will discover the perfect person in your network to answer… in under 5 minutes!” As I’ve commented before, I think they need to embrace the philosophy of “when in doubt, make it public.” But hey, they made the Time’s top 50 websites for 2009, so perhaps they are right to ignore my advice.

Link to original post