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Mahalo, the Human Powered Search Engine Launches it's Alpha

By
Real Estate Agent with Better Homes & Gardens Mason McDuffie Real Estate

mahaloBig news in the world of search today!

Former Weblogs Inc. founder and serial entrepreneur Jason Calacanis launched Mahalo.com, a human-powered search engine, at the Wall Street Journal's D Conference.

The site is currently being launched in Alpha with the Internet's 4,000 most popular search terms completed and hopes to reach 10,000 search terms by the end of the year. At that point it will enter Beta, and launch shortly thereafter.

From the press release:

The site is focused on the top English-language search terms, including verticals such as travel, products, news, entertainment, sports, food, and health. "Google's mission is to index the world's information; our mission is to curate that wonderful index," said Calacanis. "It's my belief that humans can play a significant role in the development of search results and we're going to try to figure out exactly what that role is over the next couple of years. I am really looking forward to hearing what people think of the Alpha," he added.

Supposedly they have already closed two rounds of funding and have enough capital to last 4 years without revenue.  Also, the investor list reads like a who's who of VC and includes Sequoia Capital, Elon Musk and NewsCorp. Additional investors include CBS Corporation, Hubert Burda Media, Allen & Co., David Bradley, Gigi Brisson, Sandy Climan, Mark Cuban, Matt Coffin, Ted Leonsis, Jonathan Miller, Mark Pincus, Ryan Scott, and Fred Wilson.

This is going to be one to keep your eye on.  Given Calacanis's disdain for SEO and SEM, one can only imagine the implications if Mahalo, and human enabled search, takes off.

I'm going to play around with it tonight and report back tomorrow.  I'd love to hear what others think.


Comments (4)

John Wubbel
Property Club Pro - Swiftwater, PA
Andy - Thanks for informing us about this product. It will be interesting to see it develop. 
Jun 01, 2007 01:37 PM
Vicki Watzlawick
CORE Realty (The Watz Team) - Algonquin, IL
Illinois Foreclosure Expert, The Watz Team

Andy I poked around on it but couldn't find anything related to Real Estate, other then technology perhaps.

It's easy to maneuver.

Jun 01, 2007 03:30 PM
Joyce Heffner-Williams
Keller Williams Clients' Choice Realty - Monument, CO
Owner/Broker/EcoBroker - Monument Real Estate

Sounds like an amazing idea.  I will try to check it out.
For now Mahalo!!!

Troy Heffner - Marina Del Rey, CA

Jun 01, 2007 04:09 PM
Andy Kaufman
Better Homes & Gardens Mason McDuffie Real Estate - Berkeley, CA
East Bay Sales & Investments
The terms that have pages seem to be pretty useful, but it looks like the there's pages completed for a very limited number of search terms.  For instance, if you wanted some info on the Tesla Roadster, this page is fully of highly relevant links.
Jun 03, 2007 12:49 PM