SearchMe
Encyclopedia
SearchMe was a visual search engine
based in Mountain View
, California
. It organized search results as snapshot
s of web pages — an interface
similar to that of the iPhone
's and iTunes
's album selection.
In July 2009, the company lost funding and the search engine went offline.
and John Holland. Adams was inspired to start this search engine when his 5-year-old son was having difficulty reading. He hoped to create a search engine that "would improve the experience of finding information online". Sequoia Capital
spent millions of dollars to fund SearchMe during the website's opening years.
In March 2008, the site was launched in beta status. In April 2008, the company launched its search engine on the Internet.
.
Of its 45 employees, SearchMe dismissed all 45. The company attempted to concentrate on the market of broadband TV
.
and Twitter
links so that the results can be shared. The top of the screen displays the screenshot, while the bottom reveals the hyperlink
and a site's description. Moving the mouse from left to right makes the screen "flip in the corresponding direction".
SearchMe's tagline
is "You'll know it when you see it." As of March 2008, the website has indexed
one billion pages.
". The website receives its revenue from advertisements
. Advertisements are displayed through screenshots of the products or companies that are being promoted. Search results are ranked through algorithms and the number of views a website has received. Websites that are "visually appealing" are ranked higher than those that are not.
, which indexed Wikipedia
pages and sites that were linked to from Wikipedia articles.
In October 2008, SearchMe released a music streaming service
, which enables users to download an unlimited number of songs. The service relies on Imeem
's collection of music.
Search engine
A search engine is an information retrieval system designed to help find information stored on a computer system. The search results are usually presented in a list and are commonly called hits. Search engines help to minimize the time required to find information and the amount of information...
based in Mountain View
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It organized search results as snapshot
Snapshot
Snapshot may refer to:* Snapshot , an amateur photograph* Snapshot, a 1979 Australian film directed by Simon Wincer* Snapshot, a novel by Garry Disher...
s of web pages — an interface
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
similar to that of the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
's and iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
's album selection.
In July 2009, the company lost funding and the search engine went offline.
Founding
SearchMe was founded in March 2005 by Randy AdamsRandy Adams
Randy Adams is an American serial entrepreneur funded by Sequoia Capital in Menlo Park, California in the Silicon Valley, and a founder of seven venture capital backed companies including Will Ferrell's popular comedy site, Funny or Die.He was educated at Mount Desert Island High School in Bar...
and John Holland. Adams was inspired to start this search engine when his 5-year-old son was having difficulty reading. He hoped to create a search engine that "would improve the experience of finding information online". Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital is a Californian venture capital firm located on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California. The Wall Street Journal has called Sequoia Capital "one of the highest-caliber venture firms", and noted that it is "one of Silicon Valley's most influential venture-capital firms"...
spent millions of dollars to fund SearchMe during the website's opening years.
In March 2008, the site was launched in beta status. In April 2008, the company launched its search engine on the Internet.
Offline in July 2009
The company had 1.8 million visitors in March 2009, but by May of the same year, the number of visitors decreased to 600,000. On July 24, 2009, SearchMe went offline due to financial troubles, such as maintaining the serversServer (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
.
Of its 45 employees, SearchMe dismissed all 45. The company attempted to concentrate on the market of broadband TV
Internet television
Internet television is the digital distribution of television content via the Internet...
.
Searches
As searches queries are being made, SearchMe returns categories that are related to the topic. The search engine has FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
and Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
links so that the results can be shared. The top of the screen displays the screenshot, while the bottom reveals the hyperlink
Hyperlink
In computing, a hyperlink is a reference to data that the reader can directly follow, or that is followed automatically. A hyperlink points to a whole document or to a specific element within a document. Hypertext is text with hyperlinks...
and a site's description. Moving the mouse from left to right makes the screen "flip in the corresponding direction".
SearchMe's tagline
Tagline
A tagline is a variant of a branding slogan typically used in marketing materials and advertising. The idea behind the concept is to create a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of a brand or product , or to reinforce the audience's memory of a product...
is "You'll know it when you see it." As of March 2008, the website has indexed
Index (search engine)
Search engine indexing collects, parses, and stores data to facilitate fast and accurate information retrieval. Index design incorporates interdisciplinary concepts from linguistics, cognitive psychology, mathematics, informatics, physics, and computer science...
one billion pages.
Revenue
It requires about 3 million searches every day for the company to "break evenBreak-even
Break-even is a point where any difference between plus or minus or equivalent changes side.-In economics:A technique for which identifying the point where the total revenue is just sufficient to cover the total cost...
". The website receives its revenue from advertisements
Online advertising
Online advertising is a form of promotion that uses the Internet and World Wide Web to deliver marketing messages to attract customers. Examples of online advertising include contextual ads on search engine results pages, banner ads, blogs, Rich Media Ads, Social network advertising, interstitial...
. Advertisements are displayed through screenshots of the products or companies that are being promoted. Search results are ranked through algorithms and the number of views a website has received. Websites that are "visually appealing" are ranked higher than those that are not.
Criticism
SearchMe has been criticized for not providing the number of search results, causing users to not know whether they are perusing through 10 results or 1000 results. Some of SearchMe's screenshots are difficult to read, causing users to decide whether a site is relevant based on its appearance. However, the website highlights the search queries for easier perusal of the screenshot.Other services
In 2007, SearchMe founded WikiseekWikiseek
Wikiseek was a search engine that indexed Wikipedia pages and pages that were linked to from Wikipedia articles. The search engine was funded by a Palo Alto based Internet startup SearchMe and was officially launched on January 17, 2007. Most of the funding came from Sequoia Capital. It used Google...
, which indexed Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
pages and sites that were linked to from Wikipedia articles.
In October 2008, SearchMe released a music streaming service
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
, which enables users to download an unlimited number of songs. The service relies on Imeem
Imeem
The online service imeem was a social media web site where users interacted with each other by streaming, uploading and sharing music and music videos...
's collection of music.