Mahalo -New Human-Powered Search

Mahalo joins Powerset (see prior post) as the more interesting new engines to launch in 2007 and is deja vu all over again as a reincarnation of the original human-editor created Yahoo search directory, LookSmart, and Mining Company, now Ask.

Mahalo showcases one of the guiding mantras of the Web 2.0 era: "People are the new algorithm."

The primary results for search terms are included in a handpicked “top seven” area, additional hand picked results appearing below the Top Seven, with Google results rounding out the query along with blogs and forums.

In the right sidebar is a place for users who’ve registered with the site to submit links relevant to the query. The more users who’ve submitted a unique link, the higher it appears on the list. If a link gets enough votes and is determined to be relevant by the guides, it will move over into the main search results area. Each page also has a discussion/forum area, where any registered user can add their thoughts to what’s included on the results page.

Mahalo has 40 full time guides today and expect to have 10,000 by end of year, and 25,000 by end of 2008 with a focus on the leading search terms, which they obtain from a number of search engines and other sources.

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