ChaCha.com has an interesting spin on the whole idea of search. It thinks that part of the problem of searchers not being able to find the contents that they are looking for is the searchers themselves. In another words, they don’t know how to look for it.
I tend to agree with it after seeing how some of my friends search for information on the web. The matter of the fact is that most people simply aren’t aware or know the advanced capabilities of search engine nor do they know the nuisance associated with selecting the right keywords only and excluding keywords that will pollute your results.
Kudos to Chacha for coming up with a business model which links volunteers (or do they get paid ? I am not sure) on the web with searchers who are unable to find what they are looking for and offer a human guided search experience.
The whole chcha search experience turns the Google mentality upside down and put a human being right next to you as you conduct your search. The guide will verify what you are searching for, find the best results, present it to you and ask for your confirmation. Kinda like a tour guide except its for free. I found the service works amazingly well.
Would I use it for my day to day search ? Probably not, would I recommend it to less experienced search users such as my parents ? Absolutely ! The assistance provided by humans on ChaCha.com is timely, seamless, well executed and effective, I can imagine it being a God send for people who are not familiar with computers, Internet or Search engines. In the future if someone calls me and ask me to help them find something on the web, I might just point them to Chacha.com and know that they are in good hands….
The only interesting thing about the human guide model is as it get’s popular, how they can keep scaling it up and maintain the quality of the service offered. I just can’t see the numbers adding up if they have to start paying these personal search assists, I hope it stays up as there is definitely a place for it.
Better check it out while it still lasts.
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