The cheers from within Google were audible all around the world yesterday with the news that Jimmy Wales, founder of the Wikipedia venture, has closed the doors on his Wikia Search project. The project was announced last year in a blaze of glory as a community led search engine targeting the likes of Google, Yahoo and MSN.
However, the indications are that the project has not gone as well as planned and users have yet to take on board the newfound approach. The system depends upon users being proactive and suggesting which searches are relevant and which are less helpful with the results then used to produce a more user friendly and helpful search engine. There was also a suggestion that the ongoing recession has affected the amount of money set aside for investment in the business and ultimately called the deathknell for Wikia Search.
The likes of Google, Yahoo and MSN have dominated the search engine market for some time although Google is far and away the most influential website on the Internet. Challengers have come and gone, changes have been made yet customers keep returning to the giant which is Google and nobody yet has been able to removes the crown.