Search Results for: \"ask.com\"

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Ask.com is Still Lurking About

posted on April 13, 2009

Looking back at the past few months of posts here at Marketing Pilgrim it is real obvious what players dominate the search and ask logosocial media landscape. I am not going to rehash those names again because you will likely read about one or more of them in the next post. One player that gets little attention is Ask.com. They are back trying to make some noise again but is anyone around to hear them?

Ask has been at this search thing for quite a while now. Now a part of IAC / InterActiveCorp the search engine has been around in some way, manner, shape or form since 1996. It even had a butler at one point ;-) . Now, however, it struggles to be more than a footnote in the search engine wars running a distant fourth in a three company race (despite seeing some increase in usage in March).

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What’s Ahead for Ask.com?

posted on May 22, 2007

I guess we’re all getting a little tired of writing about Google. Ask has been on the forefront of more than one person’s mind lately.

ask.com logo Jennifer Laycock asks whether Ask is On Fire, or Going Down in Flames? Good question. She points to Nielsen//NetRatings’ April results which show Google’s market share at 55.2%, up 48% over last year—and Ask’s market share at 1.8% and actually down 2.3% (or down half a percentage point) from last year.

Josh Catone on Read/WriteWeb asks whether Ask’s future should be search (riffing on Allen Stern of CenterNetwork’s plan to get Ask.com back on track). Josh suggests that they should focus on their advertising products instead. It’s not a bad idea.

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IAC Appoints Jim Lanzone Chief Executive Officer of Ask.com

posted on April 24, 2006

On Saturday, we reported Steve Berkowitz’s move from Ask.com to Microsoft. At the time, I offered that “Jim Lanzone is more than capable to take over”. And indeed IAC sees the same value in Jim, today naming him to CEO of Ask.com.

“Jim is one of the most respected leaders in the search industry, having been principally responsible every day for the turnaround of the Ask product and brand over the past several years,” said Doug Lebda, IAC President and Chief Operating Officer. “With his vision for the future and successful track record for driving the Ask.com business, he has been and will be the ideal leader for the next stage of the company’s growth.”

Congratulations Jim, this is very much deserved! :-)

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Ask and Ask Again. You’ll Probably Get the Same Old Answer

posted on October 6, 2008

ask logoWell, it must be that time of year. You know when the leaves change colors and Ask changes their design? At some point they have to settle on something. They are actually starting to act like your “different” cousin who shows up at family functions with a new body piercing and a bad attitude just for shock value. You pay attention for a minute then you realize that it’s actually really sad that she doesn’t get it.

Ask.com is starting to feel that way in the realm of search engines. Once full of promise and ready to take on the big boys of search (which is now just one big boy and Ask partners with them anyway; dare to guess who?) they are now becoming a bit of a search sideshow. In today’s WSJ we learn that a new and improved Ask.com is on the horizon (see screenshot). There are two points that are interesting here. First is Barry Diller’s spin on this redesign:

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Ask.com Launches Mobile Optimized Search

posted on October 12, 2006

Ask.com has launched Ask Mobile Search, a web search service aimed at cell phone users, according to CNET.

Ask Mobile Search features navigation shortcuts to minimize keystrokes and provides direct access to key search categories on the home page, like directions, image search, business listings, maps and weather.

Yahoo, Google and MSN have all recently launched mobile search options. Ask.com plans to offer the service without ads – at least for the time-being.

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Ask Takes Google to Task on Privacy

posted on June 18, 2008

Forget the fact that privacy watchdogs are all over Google threatening legal action for not linking prominently to their privacy policy—now other search companies are out to steal their bacon. Ask.com is circulating news that they’re now prominently linking to their privacy policy.

From the email:

At Ask, we take our commitment to user privacy and data protection very seriously. We’ve demonstrated this not just through words, but through deeds and actions. We were the first major search company to announce that we would be placing privacy tools directly in the hands of our users, as we said we would do in July 2007. Then, we did it: we launched AskEraser in December 2007. Ask remains the only major search company to develop and deploy a privacy protection tool that that empowers web users to make decisions as to data retention by Ask. The AskEraser tool is right there on our homepage, a one-step mechanism to deleting a users’ search data from Ask.com servers.

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Ask Asks If the Human Element Will Help Its Search Business

posted on July 27, 2010

Ask has always been the red-headed stepchild of the search industry. It’s always lurking in the shadows as the #4 search engine and usually gets a mention in search share only if there was significant up or down movement. Accounting has the Big 4 but search only has the Big 3 which is soon to be the Big 2 ½ or something once bing and Yahoo fully consummate their relationship. Ask is usually not included in those talks but is making changes to differentiate itself and hopefully make more of a splash in that area. The key to that hope: good ol’ fashioned human beings!

The Ask blog reports