As of late ask.com has been making a big push for market share in the search engine market. They claim that they have one of the more advanced search technologies on the web, which I do not dispute, but I can’t say I have noticed it to be any better than Google or other major competitors. What they are improving however, is the experience of the user. Whats that? Ease of use? Where have we heard that before? Technology is nothing without stellar implementation for its users.
Ask.com has caught my eye for a couple of things.
- Being able to perform searches in question form
- Their interface is simple AND beautiful
- They offer many of the features you have come to expect from a search engine like maps, local reviews, video and image search, etc.
- I find their results page easier to navigate with its dynamic split layout
- Most importantly, you can erase all of the records kept on you. Privacy is king!
Ask Eraser is the most important advance in search engine service in recent memory. I cant tell you how sick I am of trusting businesses and the government with having heaps of information on my searches.
Sure Google or Ask.com might not have nefarious intentions with their databases, but I do not think that they can be trusted to truly keep your data entirely safe from individuals who could use it for nasty purposes.
The eraser feature has now made me start using Ask.com ask primary site for searching.
Come on Google, try to win me back, give me some privacy features. The only way to deal with the Bush Administration and the NSA wanting all of your data on your users, is to stop keeping data that your users don’t want kept!
Here is a link to the story from CNN Technology
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/12/11/ask.privacy.protection.ap/index.html
-The Digital Kitty
