Once you get past the innate humor of its name this brand new “information experience” on the Net is indeed what it says it is—“the information experience.” May be it is just my reflexively “dirty” mind but it is possible that the creators of this new search platform called Qwiki have a naughty sense of humor.
With my mandatory flippancy out of the way, let me tell you a bit about Qwiki. I have just begun testing it. If the eventual objective of Qwiki’s founders Doug Imbruce and web pioneer Dr. Louis Monier is to shake up Google as the preferred search platform, then I think they are on to something. Unlike Google, which is by any measure an algorithmic triumph of the highest order, Qwiki offers a far more engaging audio-visual and story telling experience.
Even if I discount the fact that I am a sucker for new things in all walks of life, particularly science and information technology, I think Qwiki poses a real threat to Google once it has managed to acquire nearly as much information as the search giant. However, that is precisely the point. I wonder whether Qwiki can escape depending on Google’s accomplishment. If it cannot, then it may end up being merely an attractive cosmetic veneer.
I am tempted to speculate that the exit of Eric Schmidt as Google’s CEO and return of the search giant’s co-founder Larry Page’s in his place may have something to do with Qwiki. I could be totally wrong but it is possible that Page has been tracking Qwiki. What makes it a venture to watch is the kind of people who are bankrolling it. Eduardo Saverin, the co-founder of Facebook, Jawed Karim, a co-founder of YouTube, and Pradeep Sidhu, a cofounder of Juniper Networks. Together they are reported to have invested $8 million into Qwiki. I know eight million is what Larry Page may carry as his pocket money but still it is the pedigree of the investors that would matter here.
What Qwiki does is take diverse information on any given subject and gives it a linear audio-visual treatment. One jarring note of the presentation is the electronically generated female voiceover which can sound too clinical and disembodied. It sounds too robotic and synthetic for my tastes. I understand the economics of using synthetic voice but Qwiki should consider bringing in a little more warmth to it.
From what I have seen so far the search platform lives up to a lot of its promise of experiencing information rather than just reading it. I can see myself using Qwki as much as Google as it becomes more pervasive and eventually even using just that.
There is one major drawback here though. In keeping with my modesty, I quickly searched my name and nothing came up. I am sure the Qwiki team will correct that huge omission. In contrast, Google offers tens of thousands of references against my name. What this means is that Qwiki is not necessarily depending on Google’s database. It also means that no one gives a whit about me.