Cats have nine lives… I am not sure how many dogs have. Perhaps a few more than some would expect. Google should really watch their back because not many people have got their six and there very well may be some competition headed their way. It looks like we got a new search dog in town and it’s not Lycos. And if you want my opinion… I am glad. Google is great and they are the master and all mighty in search, or are they? Check this out, baby!!! This is goodstuff! 
Oh No! What The Hell Is That?
That’s not the logo you are used to seeing everyday. That doesn’t say Google. No, my friends… the above logo is the Ask.com blog search logo. And let me tell you something… this place is HOT. I am truly impressed! Ask.com has really stepped things up and they offer some REALLY cool searching options. But, they are not as popular as Google. However, does that REALLY matter? It’s all about search results, right?
What do you use Google search for? To find things, right? Well, that’s what I use Google for too. But from what I can see here, it looks like Ask.com is coming in for a stealth attack.
What Can Ask.com Do For You?
Oh, I thought you would never ask! This is juicy!!! Check this out:
What is this? Looks like drop down menus… Very cool! I can search for things in Ask.com and then immediately subscribe to the RSS feed using my favorite RSS reader and I can submit the post to my favorite social media site such as Digg! Wow… how cool is that? But wait… it gets even better!
Your Blog My Be Featured!
Hey! Who the hell is that guy? Oh, wait… that’s Kevin from BloggingTips.com! Hey Kevin, what’s up dude… your blog is featured on Ask.com!
There’s more…
Bloggers have a ton of stuff!
When you sign up for Ask.com they give you the ability to create folders to keep your important stuff in.
No More Mystery. No More Click To Discover!
Ask.com understands that people hate to click on things and then discover its something you don’t want. It wastes time to sit there and click on things. Ask.com wants to help you find what you want and find it quick. Ask.com offers a preview of the page in the results without even having to click. Here is a screen shot:
What Else Could Ask.com Possibly Offer Me?
Yet again… another excellent question! What is one thing that could make Ask.com complete? What is one thing that Ask.com could do for you to make your searching experience better? How about a KICK ASS toolbar. No, not another toolbar!!!! But wait, this toolbar actually ROCKS! It’s awesome… Here is a screen shot:
Google Is Good, It’s Just Not Fun Anymore!
Today, Google is like watching the SuperBowl and discovering that the other team failed to show up. It’s no fun when there is no competition…
We have to have competition. It’s a must. Without competition, we have nothing. Without competition we have a football or baseball game where there is only one team in the league. And what fun is that?
What Is Garry Conn Going To Do?
Garry Conn is going to give Ask.com a 7 day trial. I am going to set my homepage to Ask.com, I am going to use their toolbar and I am going to give them a chance to win my business. From what I see so far, Ask.com could potentially blow Google away by providing really cool functionality to the equally relevant search results typically found in Google.
What About Submitting Your Blog?
Submitting your URL couldn’t be easier! I wrote a post about it a few months ago… but the process couldn’t be any easier. Click here to view my previous post or click here to submit your blog to ask.com.
Ask.com Is Marketing on TV
Here is one of there more recent television commercials. I just saw one tonight and watching that commercial caused me to investigate and see what they have been cooking up. Again, I am very impressed.
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Date/Time: 10-11-2007 04:52:31 Comment #5714
wow very cool stuff. I wonder how bloggingtips got featured. There was talk about Google offering feed packages so maybe the ones ask features are some of the ones that Google will use in their packages too…
Date/Time: 10-11-2007 05:04:37 Comment #5715
Ask blog search rocks. I’ve been using that for a long time. I’ll be interested to see how your trial works out. It wouldn’t do to get complacent about using Google.
Date/Time: 10-11-2007 07:26:32 Comment #5716
Very cool review. I’m inspired to grab the toolbar for a Google-free Friday (and give it a sphinn).
Date/Time: 10-11-2007 10:23:15 Comment #5718
I can’t quite tear myself away from Google because I have been comparing the search results of Ask.com with Google. I think Google is great, but like I mentioned in the article… I just really want to see some valid competition. Ask.com is great, only thing they need now is traffic.
@Matt, not sure how Kevin got featured. I don’t know how that works yet, but I am going to attempt to find out.
@Sharon,
My trial would would great if I could stop comparing search results between the search engines.
@Lisa,
Google Free Friday. That’s awesome… wonder how many people we could get to do that every Friday. lol!!!
Date/Time: 10-11-2007 13:51:35 Comment #5722
Garry – While I’d really like to take credit for the idea of campaigning for Google Free Fridays – it wasn’t an original idea at all. Here’s the background in a nutshell:
1. Microsoft-Free Fridays (2001)
Dave Winer suggested that everyone take Fridays to explore using any browser other than MSIE.
http://www.scripting.com/davenet/2001/06/13/microsoftfreeFridays.html#3
2. Google-Free Fridays (2003)
Raster suggests an experiment, Google free Fridays to see if people can still find what they’re looking for that one day a week using AlltheWeb or even Teoma or Yahoo.
http://rasterweb.net/raster/200303.html#03062003082016
3. Google-Free Fridays (2007)
Danny Sullivan resurrects that idea with the twist of setting each Friday in July as a specific alternative search engine day.
http://searchengineland.com/070620-145718.php
Danny mentions that his inspiration was ALTSearchEngines.com’s “Day Without Google?” where the idea was for everyone to not use one of the top five search engines on June 12th, 2007, then come back and post about their experiences.
http://altsearchengines.com/2007/06/10/a-day-without-google/
Date/Time: 10-11-2007 14:23:44 Comment #5723
Great post!
It always amazes me how Ask.com is still around. Not that they aren’t good, but noone seems to know about them or use them.
I always submit my sites to Ask.com after creation. I haven’t noticed much traffic, but I figure it can’t hurt
Date/Time: 10-11-2007 15:06:23 Comment #5724
Google came out of nothing as well (although Ask has been around longer than Google) and now they dominate. It’s a matter of giving people what they want when they want it and then marketing it.
I’d say: Why not Ask?
Date/Time: 10-11-2007 17:18:07 Comment #5728
Garry this may be where I am screwing up. Where should I add my site to make sure everyone searchs it right. I think I only signed up with google.
Date/Time: 10-11-2007 21:07:53 Comment #5730
I’ve been using Ask since the days when it was “AskJeeves.com”. Remember the cartoonish butler? I liked it because you could enter your question into the search box and get hundreds of sites that were in lieu with your question.
Ask.com has come a long way since then, and I’ve also been seeing the new commercials. They’re trying hard to jump back into the running, and I think they’re doing a great job of it.
Let me know how your week long trial turns out.
Date/Time: 10-12-2007 07:45:32 Comment #5733
Search is boring. That’s why nobody cares about Ask.
Date/Time: 10-13-2007 11:30:49 Comment #5758
Looking forward to hearing the results. It’s long overdue that there was a viable alternative to the big G
Date/Time: 10-13-2007 18:48:15 Comment #5763
Enjoyed your post. Ask.com looks very promising and coming in at a very opportune time.
Date/Time: 11-13-2007 05:42:31 Comment #6520
Thanks Garry. Very informative. We’ll go check Ask.