Blekko

Another little-known search engine--with the tall order of snagging users from Google--has landed financial backing.

Union Square Ventures today wrote in a blog post today that it invested an undisclosed amount in a search engine called DuckDuckGo, which promises super-fast search results with far less spam and clutter than you get on the biggies. (A number of angel investors also participated in the round).

The biggies, of course, is really just one biggie--Google. For all its forays into areas beside search, search is where it consistently crushes all competitors. Data released yesterday shows Google's market share stood at more than 66 percent in September… Read more

You know how you always slow down to rubberneck when you pass a car wreck on the freeway? I'm that way with new search engines. I slow down, I look for the pool of blood, and then I resume my normal Google speed and forget the twisted metal in the rear-view. Previous wrecks include Cuil, Hakia, Powerset (wrapped into Bing), Clusty, and RedZ--each had a special trick, but they've all faded from memory, some after crashing in flames, some after making their founders rich. And some still plod along in the breakdown lane, while the real traffic … Read more