As most of you are aware by now, Google has a new rival going by the name of Wolfram Alpha (WA). However, to date I'm sure Google hasn't much to worry about in the short term.
Since returning from soggy Dorset I've attempted to put WA through its paces by typing in a myriad of search terms, questions, etc. including, "When was wolfram alpha established?", and I only ever seem to get one response - an error message referring to me as 'Dave'. Now the engine is quite close - my Dad's name is Dave, but he lives 150 miles away, so not close enough. By using this laid-back approach to error messaging I understand it's trying to 'connect' with me, but I must admit, calling me Dave doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy.
Now on top of its error messaging being slightly obscure, I've also come across a few other factors which may flaw its impending success:
- The name 'Wolfram Alpha' - not really memorable, is it? You wouldn't really replace "Let's Google it" with "Let's Wolfram Alpha it". I even had to look up the name again to type this point!
- When it does show you the Dave error message, the continued journey is a link to a video of the WA employees (which I don't have the patience to watch). I wasn't looking for a video of a dark room with monitors...
- When clicking on their help forum I was taken straight back to their homepage. Odd.
What does go in WA's favour however, is a PageRank of 7 (thanks to their PR, I've no doubt) and a staggering 40 DMOZ entries, along with 10 Yahoo! Directory categories - not an easy achievement when you've only been live for 3 days.
So like an earlier post I wrote about Twitter; I'm yet to be convinced, but I'm sure in time I will be. Twitter certainly proved itself.
Lou_geek
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