Cuil - the fallout

As with every young pretender that promises much, obscurity is an ever-present threat. The naysayers and detractors are waiting in the wings.

Part of the reason for the failure of a new search engine is the symbiotic relationship that many companies and search engine optimisers have with Google. Google gets 60% of the searches and so those who want to get the best from their websites will focus on Google and encourage people to use Google.

Another part is the failure of the search engine. Although the verdict is still out on Cuil (pronounced 'Cool') there are whisperings that it's not all it's cracked up to be and that hubris reigns at their Palo Alto HQ. Sarah Carey, a journalist and friend of Cuil CEO, Tom Costello, was somewhat taken aback by the profligacy of the operation being amazed that the company pays for muffins, drinks, a personal trainer and a gym membership for everyone. Dragons will be rotating in their dens at hearing this. With only $33 million to play with, can such expenses be justified in a fight against multi-billion dollar search engines?

Time will tell for Cuil but things don't look good already.