New search engine promises privacy, fundamentally different approach

There's a new search engine that promises to give results based on what's important instead of what's popular.

Cuil (www.cuil.com), pronounced "cool," boasts 120 billion indexed Web pages. That's three times more than Google. The newcomer also claims to have a fundamentally different approach to search on the Web and offers a promise of privacy for the user.

My first question about the site is: Who came up with the name? Cuil? Their "About Us" page attributes the naming to one of the founders, adding the word is from old Irish meaning "knowledge." Hence, cuil equals knowledge.

I wonder if that knowledge will sink in to help users remember this misspelled domain name?

When I got word of this new search engine last week, I couldn't resist typing my name into the very stripped-down home page search window. Think of the original Google page, only all black, with white and blue text and a logo. The results were extensive, leading off with a bit of information about me and a link to the online index for my columns. Other results included links to specific columns and other sites that include my column.

A search for "Las Vegas" resulted in a different type of results page that included tabs across the top and an "Explore by Category" box. This area has a series of topics related to the search which expand when the cursor rolls over the area. A selection of relevant links are available, leading to additional results for a specific topic.

For example, the Las Vegas search included a hotels category and within that selection links to nine hotel searches. I clicked on the Venetian link and was quickly returned a page of results related to the hotel.

A Cuil search sometimes presents a "Search Term Suggestion" when a query is entered. This is a list of links that go directly to sites related to your search, bypassing a results page. For example, while typing the letters for a search for "Chevrolet," a drop-down box appears with a link directly to the chevrolet.com site.

Cuil also boasts a privacy policy unlike other sites. It includes: "When you search Cuil, we do not collect any personally identifiable information. Period. We have no idea who sends queries: not by name, not by IP address, and not by cookies. Your search history is your business, not ours."

The site was founded by Tom Costello, Anna Patterson and Russell Power. You can learn about their history and ties to Google at the management page: (www.cuil.com/info/management).

Now it's your turn. Here's your homework assignment: Use Cuil for the next week and send me your feedback. Either go to my Tidbits blog at (www.lvrj.com/blogs/onlineguy) or send me an e-mail with the subject "Cuil."

Let me know if you think Cuil is cool.

Share your Internet story with me at agibes@reviewjournal.com.