Founded in 2007, Blekko is the newest search engine among powerhouses Google and Bing. According to TechCrunch, the company’s query relevancy is comparable to Google - making search engine users wonder, “What makes Blekko different than Google?” The answer: the ability to specialize your search with the use of slashtags, a distinct feature of Blekko that may attract a crowd looking for precise search results.
The slashtag method, with the model being “keyword”/ “criteria”, allows users to search a specific keyword. This is followed by even more specific criteria. According to Search Engine Land, “Slashtags allow search personalization and filtering through the creation of mini-indexes of authoritative or favorite sites.”
Here is an example: Imagine you have an interest in learning more about the BP oil spill in the Gulf. More specifically, you have an interest in a conservative viewpoint on the BP oil spill. By using slashtags, Blekko allows you to narrow in on that exact viewpoint through searching “bp/conservative.” The screenshots obtained from Search Engine Land display how the Blekko slashtags narrow your search:
The result is a related article on the oil spill from FoxNews, a high traffic Conservative news site.
Blekko’s slashtag feature offers many search advantages that may attract new users. The personalization that slashtags create will allow users to save time by instantly drawing filtered results. Slashtags eliminates scrolling through the useless blog posts and articles that may lack relevancy and trusted content that arise from other search engines. Users are able to create their own slashtags for sites, and continually use those slashtags for searches. Additionally, websites such as TechCrunch and Search Engine Land address an advantage. Blekko will control spam more effectively than Google or Bing.
Beta testers still privately operate Blekko, and it is currently not accessible for search. However, the search engine plans to launch later this summer, and Blekko advises avid search engine users to be prepared to “slash the web”.
