Blekko (trademarked as blekko)
[ was a company that provided a ]web search engine
A search engine is a software system that provides hyperlinks to web pages, and other relevant information on World Wide Web, the Web in response to a user's web query, query. The user enters a query in a web browser or a mobile app, and the sea ...
with the stated goal of providing better search results than those offered by Google Search
Google Search (also known simply as Google or Google.com) is a search engine operated by Google. It allows users to search for information on the World Wide Web, Web by entering keywords or phrases. Google Search uses algorithms to analyze an ...
, with results gathered from a set of 3 billion trusted webpages and excluding such sites as content farms. The company's site, launched to the public on November 1, 2010, used slashtags to provide results for common searches. Blekko also offered a downloadable search bar. It was acquired by IBM
International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
in March 2015, and the service was discontinued.
Toolbar
Blekko offered a downloadable browser toolbar or search bar which changes default search and home page
A home page (or homepage) is the main web page of a website. Usually, the home page is located at the Root directory, root of the website's Domain name, domain or subdomain. For example, if the domain is example.com, the home page is likely l ...
URLs of the user's web browser
A web browser, often shortened to browser, is an application for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's scr ...
s.[{{cite web , url=http://help.blekko.com/index.php/i-downloaded-the-toolbar-and-some-settings-changed-on-my-ie-browser-how-do-i-change-them-back/ , last=Watson , first=Cheralyn , title=How do I remove blekko as my homepage and default search engine in Internet Explorer (IE)? , date=January 12, 2012 , publisher=help.blekko.com , access-date=April 10, 2012 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420214739/http://help.blekko.com/index.php/i-downloaded-the-toolbar-and-some-settings-changed-on-my-ie-browser-how-do-i-change-them-back/ , archive-date=April 20, 2012 , df=mdy-all ]
Reception
In 2010, John Dvorak
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
described the site as adding "so much weird dimensionality" to search, and recommended it as "the best out-of-the-chute new engine I've seen in the last 10 years".[ Dvorak, John C.br>"Blekko: The Newest Search Engine"]
''PC Magazine
''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and continues .
Overview
''PC Mag ...
'', November 1, 2010. Accessed November 1, 2010. In Matthew Rogers' review of the site, he found it "slow and cumbersome", and stated that he did not understand the necessity or utility for slashtags.[{{cite web, url=http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/11/01/blekko-the-slashtag-search-engine-is-slow-cumbersome-and-ju/ , title=Blekko, the "Slashtag" search engine is slow, cumbersome, and just plain broken, publisher=DownloadSquad.switched.com, date=November 1, 2010, author=Rogers, Matthew] In his PCMag.com review, Jeffrey L. Wilson expressed approval of some search results, but criticized the site's social features which "bog down the search experience."[{{cite web , url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2372082,00.asp , title=Blekko, publisher=PCMag.com , date=November 3, 2010, author=Wilson, Jeffrey L.]
References
{{Reflist, 30em
External links
*{{official website, http://blekko.com
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Internet technology companies of the United States
Internet properties established in 2007
Defunct internet search engines
IBM acquisitions