SearchMe
{{Short description|Defunct visual web search engine}}
{{Infobox company
| name = SearchMe Inc.
| logo = Searchme.jpg
| logo_size = 200px
| type = Search engine
| foundation = California, US
| location_city = Mountain View, California
San Francisco, California
| location_country = US
| key_people = Randy Adams (CEO)
| industry = Internet
| products = Search
| revenue =
| net_income =
| assets=
| equity=
| num_employees =
| homepage =
}}
SearchMe was a visual search engine based in Mountain View, California. It organized search results as snapshots of web pages — an interface similar to that of the iPhone's and iTunes's album selection.{{cite news |first=Joseph |last=Weisenthal |title=Sequoia-Backed Searchme Launches With $25 Million |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sequoia-backed-searchme-launches-with-25-million/ |work=Paidcontent.org |publisher=CBS News |date=2008-05-11 |access-date=June 4, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090714081334/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/11/paidcontent/main3925874.shtml |url-status=live |archive-date=2009-07-14 }}{{cite news |first=Anita |last=Hamilton |title=Why Cuil Is No Threat to Google |url=http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1827331,00.html |work=Time |date=2008-07-28 |accessdate=June 4, 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513005208/http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1827331,00.html |archivedate=2009-05-13 }}
In July 2009, the company lost funding and the search engine went offline.{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Arrington |title=SearchMe May Go Offline Tomorrow (Updated: Offline Now) |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/24/AR2009072402177.html |work=TechCrunch |publisher=Washington Post |date=2009-07-24 |accessdate=2 August 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090727143349/http://paidcontent.org/article/419-unable-to-raise-more-funds-visual-search-engine-searchme-goes-offline/ |url-status=live |archivedate=2009-07-27 }}
History
=Founding=
SearchMe was founded in March 2005 by Randy Adams and John Holland.{{cite news |first=Stefanie |last=Olsen |title=Searchme nabs $31 million from Google backer, others |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9890911-7.html |work=CNET Networks |date=2008-03-11 |accessdate=June 4, 2009 }} 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.{{cite news |first=Bambi |last=Francisco |title=SearchMe launches on Nokia Ovi store |url=http://vator.tv/news/show/2009-05-27-searchme-launches-on-nokia-ovi-store |work=VatorNews |date=2009-05-27 |accessdate=June 4, 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090606144509/http://vator.tv/news/show/2009-05-27-searchme-launches-on-nokia-ovi-store |url-status=dead |archivedate=2009-06-06 }}
=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.{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Arrington |title=SearchMe Searching For A Buyer |url=https://techcrunch.com/2009/07/24/searchme-searching-for-a-buyer-or-shutdown-could-be-their-future/ |work=Tech Crunch |date=2009-07-24 |accessdate=2 August 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090802015821/http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/24/searchme-searching-for-a-buyer-or-shutdown-could-be-their-future/ |url-status=live |archivedate=2009-08-02 }} On July 24, 2009, SearchMe went offline due to financial troubles, such as maintaining the servers.{{cite news |first=Joseph |last=Tartakoff |title=Sequoia-Backed Visual Search Engine Searchme Goes Dark |url=http://paidcontent.org/article/419-unable-to-raise-more-funds-visual-search-engine-searchme-goes-offline/ |work=Paidcontent.org |date=2009-07-24 |accessdate=2 August 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090727143349/http://paidcontent.org/article/419-unable-to-raise-more-funds-visual-search-engine-searchme-goes-offline/ |url-status=dead |archivedate=2009-07-27 }}
Of its 45 employees, SearchMe announced in July 2009 it planned to dismiss 35. The company attempted to concentrate on the market of broadband TV.
Searches
As search queries were being made, SearchMe returned categories that were related to the topic. The search engine had Facebook and Twitter links so that the results could be shared.{{cite news |title=Top 5 visual search engines |url=http://www.pandia.com/sew/1793-top-5-visual-search-engines.html |work=Pandia |date=2009-05-19 |accessdate=June 4, 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090522094526/http://www.pandia.com/sew/1793-top-5-visual-search-engines.html |url-status=live |archivedate=2009-05-22 }} The top of the screen displayed the screenshot, while the bottom revealed the hyperlink and a site's description. Moving the mouse from left to right made the screen "flip in the corresponding direction".{{cite news |first=Craig |last=Crossman |title=Computer America: Searchme.com Offers Visual Search Engine |url=http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/realestate/content/realestate/2009/01/16/RES_011609_Crossman.html |work=Palm Beach Daily News |date=2009-01-16 |accessdate=June 4, 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090715054141/http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/realestate/content/realestate/2009/01/16/RES_011609_Crossman.html |url-status=dead |archivedate=2009-07-15 }}
SearchMe's tagline was "You'll know it when you see it." As of March 2008, the website had indexed one billion pages.
=Revenue=
It required about 3 million searches every day for the company to "break even". The website received its revenue from advertisements. Advertisements were displayed through screenshots of the products or companies that were being promoted. Search results were ranked through algorithms and the number of views a website had received. Websites that were "visually appealing" were ranked higher than those that were not.
=Criticism=
SearchMe had been criticized for not providing the number of search results, causing users to not know whether they were perusing through 10 results or 1000 results.{{cite news |first=David |last=Chartier |title=CoverFlow meets search: hands-on with Searchme visual engine |url=https://arstechnica.com/old/content/2008/03/coverflow-meets-search-hands-on-with-searchme-visual-engine.ars |work=Ars Technica |date=2008-03-23 |accessdate=June 4, 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090717011843/http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2008/03/coverflow-meets-search-hands-on-with-searchme-visual-engine.ars |url-status=live |archivedate=2009-07-17 }} Some of SearchMe's screenshots were difficult to read, causing users to decide whether a site is relevant based on its appearance.{{cite news |first=Danny |last=Sullivan |title=Visual Search The Future? Spare Me The Eye Candy |url=http://searchengineland.com/visual-search-the-future-spare-me-the-eye-candy-14279 |work=Search Engine Land |date=2008-06-26 |accessdate=June 4, 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090610083439/http://searchengineland.com/visual-search-the-future-spare-me-the-eye-candy-14279 |url-status=live |archivedate=2009-06-10 }} However, the website highlighted the search queries for easier perusal of the screenshot.{{cite news |first=Scott |last=Shuey |title=A new way to search web |url=http://www.gulfnews.com/business/Technology/10235576.html |work=Gulf News |date=2008-08-09 |accessdate=June 4, 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090715043230/http://www.gulfnews.com/business/Technology/10235576.html |url-status=dead |archivedate=2009-07-15 }}
Other services
In 2007, SearchMe founded Wikiseek, which indexed Wikipedia pages and sites that were linked to from Wikipedia articles.{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Arlington |title=Wikipedia Search Engine WikiSeek Launches |url=https://techcrunch.com/2007/01/16/wikipedia-search-engine-wikiseek-launches/ |work=TechCrunch |date=2007-01-16 |accessdate=June 4, 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601141823/http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/01/16/wikipedia-search-engine-wikiseek-launches/ |url-status=live |archivedate=2009-06-01 }}
In October 2008, SearchMe released a music streaming service, which enables users to download an unlimited number of songs.{{cite news |first=Don |last=Reisinger |title=Searchme tries music streaming to attract users |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10070614-2.html |work=CNET Networks |date=2008-10-20 |accessdate=June 4, 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024175927/http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10070614-2.html |url-status=dead |archivedate=2012-10-24 }} The service relied on Imeem's collection of music.{{cite news |first=Erick |last=Schonfeld |title=SearchMe Adds Music Search With Unlimited Streaming Via Imeem Widgets |url=https://techcrunch.com/2008/10/20/searchme-adds-music-search-with-unlimited-streaming-via-imeem-widgets/ |work=TechCrunch |date=2008-10-20 |accessdate=June 4, 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620030048/http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/20/searchme-adds-music-search-with-unlimited-streaming-via-imeem-widgets/ |url-status=live |archivedate=2009-06-20 }}
References
{{reflist|35em}}
{{Web search engines}}
Category:Defunct American websites
Category:Companies based in Mountain View, California
Category:Software companies based in Mountain View, CaliforniaCategory:Software companies established in 2005
Category:Defunct internet search engines
Category:Defunct online companies of the United States
Category:2005 establishments in California
Category:American companies established in 2005
Category:Software companies disestablished in 2009