[Search-l] Old markets and methods vs. new

[Jason Calacanis]

> a large number of people - If the company doesn't have to be big, you don't
> need a lot of people.  I think Craigslist (for just one example), which is a
> huge service, has a staff of 25?  And it started out smaller than that.

Yes, that is a great example of a service that was built of a long
time very slowly. Of course, when they started they didn't have
competition to speak of.

If you look at the search space Wikia, PowerSet, and Mahalo are coming
into a space where there are MANY excellent search options. Google and
Yahoo are doing AMAZING things in search... and they are working on
thousands of significant improvements all the time.

Search is a very mature space with a lot of revenue at stake... it's
not classifieds in 1996.

> Okay, sure... but if you don't need all that capital in the first place...
> Actually, what you need that capital for is *marketing*.

Not true actually.

Google, YouTube, and Weblogs, Inc. spent exactly nothing on marketing.
The best products on the web spread by work of mouth or some viral
component (think syndication of videos in YouTube's case).

Mahalo is spending exactly zero on marketing.

Ask.com spent $100m on marketing last year and didn't change their
share of search.

> I think ideas are more important than you seem to - without ideas you've got
> nada - but your point about execution is a good one.

Most folks over emphasize the importance of ideas. It's human nature.  :-)

>> In terms of specific ideas if you make a list of them I will tell you
>> exactly how likely they are to work on a percentage basis.*
> Hah!  I'm not sure if I'm supposed to take you seriously, or not!?

Not kidding at all. Make a list and I will give you the exact
percentage chance that it will work... but only to two decimal points.
:-)

> users.  Does it have to work this way? No.  Mahalo does the same thing -
> reinforces the position of the incumbents.  Users would be better served by
> an intelligent (whether computer powered, or human powered) system that is
> constantly on the lookout for for the *best* resources, whether they be new
> or old.

If you're saying that it takes a long time to get people to switch you
are absolutely correct. Incumbents have a huge advantage because
people are lazy and they will not switch services EVEN IF the new
service is better. There are people using AOL Mail at this very moment
in fact.

That is why it is so important to create a product that is 2-3x better
than the incumbents... not 2-3% better. If you compare PowerSet's
current offering it is--in most cases--no different than searching in
Google with the "site:wikipedia.org" parameter. in fact, it's worse as
often as it is better.

Making something better than Google/Yahoo/MSN is a five to ten year
project. Look forward to discussing it with you during that time.

all the best, Jason
---------------------
Jason McCabe Calacanis
CEO, http://www.Mahalo.com
Mobile: 310-456-4900
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