As the world’s leading search engine, Google.com, uses powerful computer hardware and software to rank web sites and deliver relevant results based on the search terms entered by users. For the most part, the system works great. Sometimes, however, it can take a little time to find exactly what you’re looking for.
Jason Calacanis, an internet entrepreneur, started Mahalo.com to provide spam-free, relevant links pertaining to the most popular search terms. Instead of using complex algorithms, he has a paid staff to hand-pick and organize the best links for each subject.
Mahalo is still in a beta version and there are a lot of things not covered. In fact, it seems impossible that Mahalo will ever have hand-built results for everything someone will want to search for. However, after experimenting with the site, it does look promising, particularly for when querying for vacation travel destinations or how-to articles.
It will be interesting to watch Mahalo.com over the coming months. Does human-powered search have a future? What do you think?