Bing : A Google Killer???

Recently, I wrote about Wolfram Alpha, a computational search engine. I also wrote about Cuil last year. Definitely they are not google killer. But they have killed themselves by the hype created before launching.

So now we have another new search engine to unveil, this time from Microsoft. But doesn’t Microsoft already have a search engine called Live Search? Yes they do, but they’ll be killing that off in the next few days.

Bing: which type of name is it? I asked the same question to one of my friend who works for Live Search. He replied “Dude I have no idea what does it mean and why they are shutting down live search”. Well, what's in a name? All we want a good search engine.

The most significant change is that Bing now organizes search results into categories. it’s a “decision engine” that will help consumer to make decisions about travel, health, and shopping. Microsoft also launched a new site, Discover Bing, that goes into all the details of how Bing works and the decision process behind the creation of it.

As we can see the snapshots given below, there are mainly 3 columns on its main page. Left most is “Explore”, basically categories like images, videos, shopping, news, maps and travel , The middle one is for searched result and the last one is for “similar links”. I am not sure whether this last column is for sponsored link or not. It also has suggestions (not a new thing for today’s search engines). The software giant is set to launch an $80 million to $100 million campaign for Bing while Google spent $25 million on all its advertising last year.

To know more about Bing watch this 2.47 minutes video.

Bing is going to be launched on 3rd June worldwide. I am eagerly waiting for that day. Currently I can’t say anything about its search results but I am highly impressed by it’s categorized search. This is something new for search engines or you can say an improvement to the search engines.

I never used Live Search. I don’t see myself giving up Google, especially given the default Firefox browser integration. But after seeing Bing’s features , definitely I would like to use it and also would like to compare it’s results with google’s results.

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Wolfram Alpha (The Good, The Bad or The Ugly ? )

A few days ago another internet search engine named Wolfram Alpha was officially launched. It was the hottest topic in my friends circle and amongst my batch mates . People were spamming and filling each others mail box. Their main queries were, will this search engine survive in front of a giant like Google? or will this search engine produce better results than Google? Did they implement semantic search? Etc.

I used it for a few hours and found some good and some bad results. I also compared it’s search results with Google. I will explain all of this and more in the latter part of this post. But the thing that interests me the most is Wolfram's profile.

Stephen Wolfram, a British prodigy who earned his PhD in Physics at the tender age of 20 . He published an article on particle physics at the age of 16 and entered Oxford University at the age of 17. He wrote a widely-cited paper on heavy quark production at the age of 17. This same person made a calculation and graphing software package called Mathematica, the only fully integrated technical computing software. No doubt he is a genius but we are here to explore Wolfram Alpha.

Is Wolfram Alpha a search engine?
Search engine is a tool which enables one to find what he is looking for on the Web. For example if you search "geekonnet" on google or on other search engines, it gives all the websites where "geekonnet" is present. If we search the same query on Wolfram Alpha it gives information about geekonnet like daily page views, domain information etc. The site's best trick is its ability to make calculations for certain types of queries. It tries to dissect a question into its components and then performs calculations using its own source materials to compute an answer. The results are presented as a sleek collage of tables, charts and graphics.

It would be unfair if we call wolfram alpha a search engine. Wolfram Alpha is a "computational knowledge engine." In simple word a " question answering system". It is interesting to know that whatever result you get on Wolfram Alpha you can also get the same result on google within 3 to 4 searched result links.

Some facts about Wolfarm Alpha:

1. Wofram Alpha's page is 18 times havier than google's home page: I compared the size and dowloading times of wolfram alpha and google on www.websiteoptimization.com . I found that the homepage Wolfram Alpha is 18 times heavier than Google's home page. The size of Google's home page is 14.449 KB with only 4 HTTP requests. But I found that the homepage of Wolfram Alpha is struggling with a size of 257.411 KB along with 37 HTTP requests. Google page takes only 3.75 seconds to load on a 56Kbps modem. whereas Wolfram Alpha takes 59.93 seconds to load on the same 56Kbps modem.
   No doubt wolfram Alpha needs a huge website optimization.
   
2. Wolfram Alpha is built using Mathmetica: Wolfram Alpha is built primarily using Mathematica; it contains 5 million lines of symbolic Mathematica code.

In short Wolfram alpha acts like a nerdy accountant who is equipped with the latest set of calculators and endless stacks of books and encyclopedias. Wolfram Alpha is completely useless for me. I don't think I will ever use it. But I am not entirely happy with Google. Google still uses the same old search algorithm based on page rank and key words. If any Google guy is reading this post, here is a question for you : When will you implement semantic search in Google?

PS: Dear readers please write your views and experiences about Wolfram Alpha as comments to this post.

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Micro-blogging

Sometimes blogging applications like wordpress, blogger, typead etc. are too much for a post. Just imagine if we start updating our status or sharing a link to a friend on wordpress or blogger then what would happen. There will be thousands of posts on a single page without any comments or there even won’t be any followers. Its horrible to imagine such a thing.

Micro-blogging is the solution to all this. Micro-blogging refers to publishing very short status messages or updates generally would be of two or three sentences. There are several emerging startups in this area, most famous being twitter. Also a few big social networking players like Facebook and bebo have converted themselves into this area.

Lets start with definition of Micro-blogging from Wikipedia. Micro-blogging is a form of multimedia-blogging that allows users to send brief text updates or micromedia such as photos or audio clips and publish them, either to be viewed by anyone or by a restricted group which can be chosen by the user. These messages can be submitted by a variety of means, including text messaging, instant messaging, email, digital audio or the web.

Let’s see some famous Micro-Blogging tools and the features and services they are offering to users.

Twitter: this famous Micro-blogging tool was launched publicly in August of 2006. The idea behind twitter was very simple; the co-founder (Jack Dorsey) was interested in the simple idea of being able to know what his friends were doing. Simplicity has played an important role in Twitter's success. Twitter asks one question, "What are you doing?" Answers must be under 140 characters in length and can be sent via mobile texting, instant message, or the web. Twitter accepts messages from sms, web, mobile web, instant message, or from third party, API projects like Tweetie, twitterfeed, DestroyTwitter etc. and makes it easy for folks to stay connected. You can also make money through twitter. Follow me on Twitter.

Mood Mill: While surfing different Micro-Blogging websites, Mood Mill impressed me the most. Mood Mill is a social mood management website. It's a personal mood management, a log, a quick 'n easy website for managing and sharing your short logs with your contacts.

Tumblr: The things here attracted me after signing in were it’s simplicity and elegance. Tumblr lets you share anything. Post text, photos, quotes, links, music, and videos, from your browser, phone, desktop, email, or wherever you happen to be. You can customize everything, from colors, to your theme's HTML. Even use your own domain name. We can say that Tumblr is a combination of blogspot and twitter but in simpler form.

I Rate My Day: This site tries to understand one of the greatest mysteries of human being: feelings. IRateMyDay allows you to share your feelings with the rest of the World in total simplicity! Each time you rate your day, you bring your salt grain to a global vision of the human feeling.

There are many more micro-blogging websites like Emotionr, Hictu (video microblogging), Pacmee, Twingr, Socialtext, Blellow, Plinky … etc. This list will never end. That’s all for now. Very soon I will come with the comparisons and services provided by different Micro-Blogging websites as I have done in past.

Follow me on twitter.

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Caught in Wrong Job? Logon to JobeeHive.

GeekOnNet is entering into its eleventh month and it continues its tradition to providing news on the new companies and startups from India.

It is always advisable to look out for the company and the job profile offered before finally jumping itno it. In these dark economic times if eLitmus provides an entry into the job world then Jobeehive.com provides an insight to the working cultures of different companies.

JobeeHive.com is a unique platform that enables professionals and students to research employers and salaries across industry sectors and locations. JobeeHive enables users to rate/review companies (they have worked for), research on salaries or a prospective employer as well as get more info about a company - be it job offers, layoffs, announcements, business opportunities, etc. The site provides rare salary information that helps professionals understand salaries, benefits and pay hikes in different companies across job grades and locations. And in the backdrop, JobeeHive is a platform to build a career network and interact with diverse industry professionals to tap their knowledge/ contacts.

it is one of the biggest employer reviews sites in the world with 20,000+ reviews. JobeeHive.com was among the Top 30 innovative startups selected for HeadStart 2009 and was named in Top 10 Indian Technology Startups in February 2009 featured in DARE Magazine. JobeeHive.com has been shortlisted in the 1st round of Economic Times - The Power of Ideas contest. Even the GeekOnNet team was invited to cover the above event for its avid readers.

In an exclusive interview to the GeekOnNet team Vishwas Mudgal, founder of Jobeehive.com speaks about his company, its targets and future plans.

VENTURE NAME :- JobeeHive.com
FOUNDER(s) :-Vishwas Mudagal, CEO & Founder

FOUNDER’S BACKGROUND:-

Vishwas Mudagal brings with him a diverse experience in corporate and entrepreneurial arenas. A teenage entrepreneur, Vishwas started his first company InfoVision Academy, which successfully trained rural students in computers during 1999-2001. He graduated from RV College of Engineering in 2003 and later gained in depth management and technology experience by working with companies such as Huawei, Honeywell and Freescale Semiconductor.

We(the Geeks): How did you get the idea to start your business?

Vishwas: Lack of transparency in the corporate world and lack of a platform to access valuable insider information about employers and salaries has always been a pain point for professionals and students. We hit upon an idea to solve this through anonymous company reviews submitted by employees themselves. After conducting a market research we found out that there was a need for such kind of a service, where employees come on a common platform to share their experiences which would benefit others. JobeeHive.com was born with this simple idea to enable professionals to make smarter career decisions.
This information is useful to employers as well, because they get to understand what employees are really going through in their organization and also compare themselves with competition. We now see a growing demand from employers for JobeeHive.com services.

We(the Geeks): How long have you been in business?
Vishwas: We launched our public BETA in September 2008 and since then we have grown rapidly. Today, with 20,000+ reviews and nearly 50,000 users, we are one of the biggest and most trusted sources of employer and salary information.

We(the Geeks): Description of good or service provided.
Vishwas: JobeeHive.com is a unique platform that enables professionals and students to research employers and salaries across industry sectors and locations.

JobeeHive enables users to rate/review companies (they have worked for), research on salaries or a prospective employer as well as get more info about a company - be it job offers, layoffs, announcements, business opportunities, etc. The site provides rare salary information that helps professionals understand salaries, benefits and pay hikes in different companies across job grades and locations. And in the backdrop, JobeeHive is a platform to build a career network and interact with diverse industry professionals to tap their knowledge/ contacts.

We(the Geeks): What is your niche market?
Vishwas: We have positioned JobeeHive.com is such a way that it is a win-win for both employees and employers. The market for employer reviews, job satisfaction surveys and salary comparison tools is as big as the job market itself – because everyone who intends to take up a job would want to understand the employer and the work, culture, satisfaction, salary packages, etc.

JobeeHive.com is a web 2.0 platform where services are built around information on companies and salaries. We complement both job portals (such as Monster.com, Naukri.com) and professional networks (such as LinkedIn.com, Xing.com). Internal surveys of our visitors and users show that they are happy with our service and intend to use it increasing given the current business climate. They use the information on JobeeHive.com to compare between the prospective employers and refer salary information to negotiate for a better pay package.

We(the Geeks): How JobeeHive is different from other social networking websites?
Vishwas: Every successful social network has something unique to offer to its users. JobeeHive.com is a very unique professional network that is built around career information (employer reviews, salary reviews, etc.). We offer something that is very useful for professionals and something which other social networks do not offer. This is precisely why we have generated so much interest in the market today.

Company reviews and salary reports on JobeeHive.com get tens of thousands of hits every week and the content keeps growing. As the content grows it becomes more valuable for everyone. Depending on the market demand, we add a few features – just like our Layoff Tracker where employees can report and keep track of industry layoffs.

We(the Geeks): How many users are using JobeeHive and how many company reviews are present currently?
Vishwas: Most of the content of JobeeHive.com is free for everyone to see. So, only if you need very specific and deep information you need to register on the site. There has been a steady growth of users on JobeeHive.com and we will be crossing 50k users soon. But the number of visitors has grown much more than users.

We do not force users to give reviews and many of them come on JobeeHive.com to network with diverse industry professionals. We currently have 20,000+ reviews and its growing at a pace where we need to ramp up our staff to moderate the content.

We(the Geeks):Who are your competitors?
Vishwas: We have Glassdoor.com and Vault.com, who have similar services.

We(the Geeks): How do you differentiate your service from that of others eg. LinkedIn or glassdoor?

Vishwas: As discussed earlier, we complement LinkedIn because Linkedin is a very generic professional network. We are very focused towards providing valuable employer information.

Glassdoor is not a professional network but JobeeHive.com is. People on JobeeHive.com have real identities and profiles and their advice means a lot to other users. Moreover, the differentiation will soon happen as we release a couple of features in the near future. We are not here to compete with Glassdoor, but to provide valuable/trustworthy information and tools for professionals. Also, the market is big enough for a few serious players.

We(the Geeks): What obstacles have you overcome?
Vishwas: The most difficult one was to convince people that such kind of a service would actually work, and today we have proven our critics wrong. Our users have liked our service and have been our brand ambassadors. Without spending a penny on marketing, we have received great traction and we thank our users and visitors for this.
Another obstacle that we are yet to overcome is that we can build a good revenue model around it. We are working on many ways to monetize our content and we are sure that JobeeHive.com is here to stay and help professionals for a long time to come.

We(the Geeks): What prospects are you visualizing for your company 5 years down the line?
Vishwas: I am not going to say much here but we want to be a clear market leader in the geographies we target. We are well set to achieve this goal.

We(the Geeks): Are you going to implement something new to your website or to your business?
Vishwas: We have many features in the pipeline and you will see them very soon. All the features will be aimed at helping professionals gain valuable insights into employers. Also, we will be going global with targeted platforms for few countries. Stay tuned to www.jobeehive.com

We(the Geeks): Any suggestions for future entrepreneurs?
Vishwas: Be passionate about your idea and never say DIE. Concentrate on the revenue model and execution. The one who executes well wins.

We hope that our posts and articles would help you all readers to make a good choice of the company in this recession time.

Hi all, this is Jimmie Tete, a new team member reporting for GeekOnNet. I hope I can live up to the challenge of all your expectations.Comments invited.

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