Search Engine Requirements

In order to have a successful search engine, one of the requriements is that the search engine be reliable. In other words, people using it need to have a feeling that the results will be a reliable (perhas even predictable) result of the input in some way. AS far as the best general serach engine, Google has it hands down. Google has the best single keyword results because it leverages off of the opinions of the entire web using back links. Google does this better than anyone, and it is very unlikely that anyone will be able to beat Google at this game. So for a search eingine to compete with Google it needs to be able to be reliable in some other way.

Here are a few possibilities for search engines:

 - build a search engine that provides the best string searching including some subset of regular expressions.
 - build a search engine that provides the best context based search. There will be two inputs rather than one. One will be the context and the other will be the keyword
 - build a search engine that focuses on 'text' format. A user would be able to search for tables, link lists, general lists, acrostic lists, short pages, long pages, simple pages, layed out pages etc etc.

Each of these could be more reliable than Google in its own way, and each could then successfully compete with Google.

Google will simply implement the same thing or buy out the competitor. Then the competitor vanishes. Some day soon, we will yearn for the glory days of a mere Microsoft monopoly, as we put on our Google-issued grey uniforms and eat half a bowl of grey Google-gruel before heading out to wait for the grey Google bus to take us to "work" in grey Google factories. (In 14 years, the Google police will execute me for having written this in 2010.)

So, what you're saying is that a requirement for an alternate search engine to survive is that it be ineffective so taht Google does not bother to buy it out? ;-) What about the Chinese or the Israelis. They are both tough enough to stand up to Google, and they are both high tech enough to build a first rate search engine.

The Chinese and Israeli armies will be nothing against Google's future legions of robot warriors. That and the fact that Google is already the most familiar way for Chinese and Israeli teens to find their daily fix of celebrity gossip and cute cat pictures. No corporation or government has the strength to sway teenagers.