ChaCha, Yahoo! and Amazon

摘要

"Part Wikipedia, part Yahoo Answers and part About.com, ChaCha is a new search engine with a compelling hook — real-time results from human beings. The site launches (in 'Alpha') today and offers users two ways to search: traditional algorithmic results or help from live 'guides.' Users interact with guides via an embedded instant messaging window in the search results page." When I read that in SearchEngineWatch blog (September 2006), I was intrigued. Who were these guys? And why were they trying to cut in on my business? My colleagues and I at the Santa Monica Public Library have worked in chat reference for the last 6 years, offering it — free — to anyone, 24/7. However, as an experienced researcher, I was also curious about the ChaCha concept.