Which Search Engine is Most Relevant?
Seth Godin points to this blind taste test for search engines. As you’ll see, you enter a search term and are shown three sets of results. You identify the set of results which you think is most relevant. Ideally, you should choose a search term which you know something about. I tried it three times
Godin uses the results to highlight that a majority of people didn’t choose Google. That’s a reasonable point, I suppose, assuming this survey’s methodology is sound (and it looks all right to me). I’d say that 80 to 85% of incoming searches for this site come through Google, followed by Yahoo and MSN.
Godin then goes on to claim that “Music sounds better through an iPod because we think it does”. This is foolish. No thinking person believes that music sounds better through an iPod–they just know they look cooler with one.
November 27th, 2005 at 10:29 am
Ooops. I accidentally stated in my previous comment that I was quoting Google’s “official blog”. That’s certainly not true - it’s just the blog of a google news-watcher and supporter.
November 27th, 2005 at 12:37 pm
Something tells me you either haven’t read or don’t subscribe to some of the ideas presented in Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, specifically the chapter on the Pepsi Taste Challlenge.