Powerset - Blue Pill or Red Pill?

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These guys look pretty serious to me! For one thing, they look as pale as Neo did right before he followed the white rabbit in The Matrix! Seriously, Steve Newcomb, Lorenzo Thione and Barney Pell just moved into their new offices in Silicon Valley. The founders of Powerset aim to be the next big gun search engine??in town! When I first read the latest New York Times story about the race to trump Google, I was simply looking for new information for our readers. Then something about all the names of the new search engine contenders struck me. Names and logos are certainly no way to judge performance, but then symbols and names are often indicative of either intent or value. The folks at Powerset seem to have grasped not only the need for people powered searches, but perhaps the very essence of the new web we have been looking for.

Simplicity! Simplicity is really what we are searching for! As human beings, we have unknowingly witnessed an unending parade of products, services, and events that prove we always make simple tasks into monumentally complicated exercises. What does a person want when he or she clicks a search button? They want to go to the exact information they want, period. Simple right? Rather than developing a system that understands what a person is searching for, we develop complex algorithms, key word, searches, Meta description analysis, Meta phrase analyzers, link relevancy stats, and hosts of other criteria to perform this simple function. The reality of design and implementation are complex, but the??final product should be simple, right?????

Enter the renaissance in internet communication. Companies that want to allow users to simply communicate what they are looking for. Powerset, states that their aim is to be the best search engine in the world. Personally, I like audacious enterprise, and especially when the effort affects whatever community positively. New search methodologies are popping up everywhere, and this in itself is an indicator that something more is wanted. My colleague Svetlana Gladkova, recently reported on Wikiasari, Wiki???s engine version of merit. To be sure, Powerset is not alone in the quest to out do Google. Similar attempts are underway at Chacha, Hakia,??and Snap among others.

It is impossible to evaluate some of these new approaches to searching, with such limited information available. There is an old rule that might apply however, and that is, ???follow the money???. According to the Times article, investors are clamoring to vest themselves in startups. Granted, most of these are Goggle-centric entities that are targeting niches at the periphery, but a few like those mentioned aim to become the next Google. As for the money, Powerset and Snap received $16 million, while Chacha got $6.1 million in financing. This is pocket change to bohemoths like Google, but substantial to the people doing the investing.

The simplicity of Powerset’s “natural language”??approach appeals to me, and one would think that some combination of Wikiasari and Powerset might really perform well! The process involved will, of course, be much more complicated than my oversimplifications. However, in my experience innovation is almost always the simple end to a complicated metamorphosis. Like the Frisbee, bicycle, wheel, fire, or smiley face, searching the web will end up simplified.

We will continue to monitor developments from Powerset, and the other players.??I have contacted them in the hope of bringing you the latest information.??I hope we can all provide feedback to these companies, and I am sure there is no shortage of opinion out there. I will make Powerset my early prediction for success for 2007. Call it a gut feeling, or seeing how far the rabbit hole goes!

Photo Credits: Jessica Brandi Lifland for The New York Times

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