lyGO.com - Visual Search Engine by Lycos.
You all remember Lycos don’t you? I do… but if you’re like me, you probably haven’t used it since gas was only $1per gallon and you still accessed the internet with 56K modem. Now, Lycos is trying a new approach to search with the Beta release of lyGO.com - A visual search engine.
The site is still in beta mode, but appears to be a promising addition to the rapidly growing visual search field. While the visual search field is rather crowded with the likes of SearchMe.com, MiddleSpot.com, and other various search engines, lyGo.com does have an advantage over the competition by having one of the oldest, and most experienced search engines on the market.
Now dust off those Zubaz, crank up some Pearl Jam, and give that old dog another try!
Vertical Search (literally)
All kidding aside, the site has a very interesting and unique approach to organizing their search results.
Once you type in your search query, the results page organizes the information by vertical columns of similar terms (if available). For example, the search for “cars” returned columns for; Cars, Used Cars, Toyota Cars, Honda Cars, and Nissan Cars (Apparently imports are popular). Each of the columns displays a “zoomable” screenshot of the top 4 results from each column, including the text version of the entry once you scroll over it.
At first I thought the site would only show the top 20 results and be done with it. Then I discovered the prev and next buttons in the left hand column under the search bar. This will show you the next page of results for the same columns. The button is just very poorly placed in the interface.
Integrated History
One of the nice features of this site is the integrated history feature.
On the left hand column below the search box and just above the advertising, the site will list your previous search history for this session. Even by going back to a previous search term, the site will still keep all the search terms you used in that session. This is one feature that I wish was available on other search engines, as I’m constantly going back and forth between search results. It also provides a nice way to keep track of multiple search terms instead of having to open up new browser windows or tabs.
Old School Meets New Trends
Even though Lycos has fallen by the wayside in recent years and hasn’t had the publicity of other search engines, it still appears to have a strong following. With the recent addition of Lygo.com, it’ll be interesting to see if they can capture some of their past market share.
August 25th, 2008 at 12:52 am
[...] We’ve found sites for song lovers, gamers, and early adopters… plus a new twist on an old school search engine. We have some interesting sites lined up for this week, so stay [...]
February 7th, 2009 at 2:36 am
I tried it out and my website was found but not imaged yet, cool concept though