I have been using Blekko off and on over the last week and although it does some things that I like, I doubt it will ever go main stream. First, what is Blekko. Blekko is a new search engine that uses slash tags to narrow down your search range. The first big difference between Blekko and Google Search, is that you have to be sign in to your Blekko account to use it. The strength of Blekko is the ability of each individual to manipulate search the way they like. There is a good video tutorial on how it works on Vimeo. Using the slash tag does work and it does narrow down your search, however it is nothing new, using the advance features in Google Search also allows you to narrow down your search options. Blekko does however allow you to do something that Google does not and that is create your own slash tag algorithm. I created one called mac-tutorial, where I added all the sites that I know that do video tutorials on Mac subjects. When I want to find a video tutorial on a mac-software or hardware, I can use this search and it will pull up searches only from these sites. You can also do searches using slash tags other people have created. If you are interested in the slash-tags that I created I am listed under klandwehr on Blekko. If you are on of the few that created list on Twitter then you will probably like creating your on slash-tags on Blekko. However I am afraid like Twitter list’s I don’t think most people want to create their own slash tags.
There are a couple of things that Blekko does that I wish Google would adopt, the first is there spam filter. If you search for something using Blekko and within your search stream you see a site that you consider spam. You simply click on the spam indicator and that site is gone from your search forever. Also if you are interested in the SEO of a site, you can hit the SEO indicator and see all the search data about that site. This is great if you want to check why one site is ranked higher then another. You can check your own site and find out where the people who are searching for your site are coming from and which sites are linking to your site. Again though this is something that a power user might be interested in, but not the average user. The average user just wants to find what they are searching for. I do think Blekko is worth trying. However I am afraid that its chance to become main stream is slim. After all they are competing against Google, and Google is hard to beat, just ask Ask.com. Have you tried Blekko, what do you think of it and will you continue to use it.
I’m glad there is a new search engine out there that is offering something totally different like Blekko is. Unfortunately, I just don’t think they can compete with Google! Google is so simple and easy, anyone can use it. And everyone does! Slashtagging is cool, but a little complicated for the average searcher. Who wants to sit around and learn how to use a search engine? Blekko has a great idea, but people aren’t going to want to deal with learning it, especially with Google still coming out with new features. However, if you’re still looking for new search engines, you should definitely check out Bweezy. I like it because it gives you the same Google results you’re looking for, but in a great new format. One thing I don’t like about Google is that you have to open a ton of tabs when searching. In Bweezy, it lets you open search results right on the page. I’m starting to use it instead of Google.
Hi! I’m glad you tried Blekko out, we love hearing from our beta-testers.
We agree that most people aren’t going to want to edit their own slashtags, other than their /spam slashtag, which is what you’re editing when you click the spam button. However, they can still take advantage of other people’s slashtags. Many people use Wikipedia, only a few edit it.
— greg