Simple, yet insightful.










  

Don't Ask

If you ask me, ask.com's (aka "Ask Jeeves") business model is pretty sleazy. Ask.com has the same core functionality of any other search engine such as Google or Yahoo. Ask.com claims to understand regular English sentences hoping it will appeal to consumers, particularly those new to the internet, but it is difficult to determine if this "language understanding" technology is more complex than dropping phrases such as "Where can I find...?" or "What is...?"

But unlike other search engines, when the user finds what he is looking for and clicks on the link taking the user to a new page, ask.com places the page found in a frame (smaller window within the web browser) and above the page the user wants to see are an ask.com logo, a banner advertisement, and some meager navigation.

The banner advertisement really should vex the owners and creators of any content displayed in the lower frame. It is difficult to believe there has been no uproar regarding this. The closest parallel would be ABC television broadcasting episodes of NBC's "Saturday Night Live" without paying NBC for the rights, and ABC keeping any advertising revenue generated from it.

Would NBC stand for that?!?! In the example, ABC would be slapped with a lawsuit faster than it takes to ride ABC/Disney's Space Mountain roller coaster. Yet millions of web sites, including those owned by NBC and ABC/Disney are regularly treated this way.

As has been widely reported, many web sites are closing up shop because they can't generate enough revenue to operate. But for the most part that is simply the result of a free economy. Too many commercial web sites were created and not all of them could be supported.

But too many web sites are resorting to guerilla marketing and advertising techniques to try to stay above water. Executives and the staffs of these operations need to think harder about whether they should be trying to stay in business at all costs. There comes a point where it just isn't worthwhile because of how poorly the customers/users are treated.

In any case, please don't support ask.com with your business/viewership and avoid other companies whose tactics you find disturbing.