South Africa has a new search engine and it looks very promising we now have 4 local search engines but this looks set to become a leader.
I'll give you a quick run down.
Ananzi.co.za was the original South African search engine. Started in 1996 it was redeveloped in 2000 and was adequate if not cutting edge at that stage...well they have done nothing since then, no updates, no revamps or search advances. It looks like a "paid for listing" business directory with...would you believe it...POP UP ADS. (Todays ad was for...<spit>Telkom</spit> which is kinda ironic)
<spit>Aardvark.co.za</split> (hyperlink removed intentionally) is run by <spit>Telkom</spit>...see the irony...and is just a wrapper for google.co.za combined with a "paid for listing" business directory...they're not great innovators at <snarl><spit>Telkom</spit></snarl> despite being the biggest telecommunication company in Africa. Site has been running for many years, almost as long as Ananzi with no updates or changes....sorry about all the snarling and spitting but I really do struggle to utter...<heave>Telkom</heave>...they're currently spending millions on reinventing and marketing the TelkomInternet Communicator...basically Skye with monopolistic controls...read what Nuf Sed about it.
funnel.co.za is a google type clone. New, started this year I think, with a pretty neat and clean design just nothing whiz bang. Doesn't really have an advantage over using google.co.za and choosing the search "pages in South Africa" option.
This brings me to the baby of the South African search engines,jonga.co.za. "jonga" is derived from Xhosa, and roughly translates as look or aim, and this is what this search engine does. If you type boring old keywords and click search you will get the same boring old results google gives. Try typing in "What's on MNet tonight" though. In the "other results" area of the screen you get a list of programs on MNet (a South African TV station). Pretty awesome.
The unfortunate thing about the "other results" area of the screen is that it appears in googles sponsored links screen space so I ignored it for my first few searches. I am not sure if these links are sponsored, I hope they're not as this will decrease their relevancy, and it would be great if you could optimise your own site in response to specific questions instead of just keywords. (I keep thinking of these results as "targeted results" and the searches as "targeted searches"…can’t you change the name for me Alistair.) Alistair Carruthers is the guy who developed (apparently in is spare time so I guess he doesn’t blog) and launched the system (No not the Botox King Alistair Carruthers…at least I think not. Maybe this search engine just “looks” young…mmmmhhh). Well done Alistair...keep on developing and upgrading and let's hope this make you your fortune.
BTW the have a neat Sony PSP competition based on referrals so there's an excuse to visit the site at least once.
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