Joe Duck

There is something about Powerset that makes me think they could become the next big thing. Bigger than Google? I don’t think so, partly because of the results of a new study showing how brand preferences have distorted the way people see search results. ie Yahoo and Google beat out other search companies *even when users were presented with identical (faked) search results*.

However, as Don Dodge recently noted you can do pretty darn well if you capture even 1% of the search market. Powerset is likely to do that and perhaps do much better. Although it’s unlikely in my view, Powerset is probably the most promising candidate on the market now to actually unseat Google and become the dominant search engine.

Tim Converse is a very sharp guy, and he’s jumped the Yahoo ship to Powerset. Look for them to nab more great minds from Google and Yahoo and MSN in the coming months.

Powerset search goes public soon, and they will start to reveal more about their search routines as they compete against the big players. The search game has only just begun and it’s going to be one of the most interesting games in town. In Silicon Valley town, and even here in Talent Oregon town.