What is Mahalo?
Mahalo is a human powered search directory that uses actual human editors to compile results alongside Google-powered results.Similar Web search directories and/or search engines that have used human power to compile results at one time or another in their history are Yahoo, the Open Directory, Ask.com, Answers.com, and quite a few others; with varying degrees of success.
How is Mahalo organized?
From the Mahalo home page, you are given a couple search options. You can search by Category, narrowing down your search query simply by winnowing down topic by topic what you're looking for (this is also a good way to just browse the extensive Mahalo directory), or, you can just type in your topic into the search box.Categories range from News to Books and Authors, and have a wealth of information hierarchically arranged under each.
More ways to explore Mahalo: the Top 50 Mahalo Pages, a special RSS feed for new Mahalo pages ("What is RSS?"), or a nifty Mahalo addon for your browser toolbar.
How does Mahalo work?
Mahalo works pretty much like any other search engine or Web search directory out there: you type in a query, and if the Mahalo editors have compiled an entry for your particular search result, you're going to get a variety of results from video to direct answers to Fast Facts (a quick compilation of the most pertinent information for that query).As previously stated, all your Mahalo results are quite nicely arranged all on one page. This is what makes Mahalo so addictive, because the Mahalo editors do a fantastic job of compiling the most relevant results for you, and you as the searcher get to reap the benefits of this practice.
For instance: say you are looking for information on a medical issue. If you use Google or Yahoo or Ask, you're going to get the standard page of search results, all of which you can visit individually and evaluate whether or not those links serve your purpose. Nothing wrong with that.
However, if you use Mahalo to search for this same query, you're going to get one page of results, all of which have been vetted and summarized for you in one convenient location. With just a quick glance at the page, you can get more information that you can actually use: quickly, accurately, and with a minimum of fuss.
This is not necessarily going to happen for every single search you type into Mahalo because search engine indexes are obviously so much bigger than this human powered search directory, but it's sure a great shortcut for the topics they do cover and will cover in the future.
Now, if your search does not have a Mahalo entry attached to it yet, then you will recieve the standard Google search results for your query. More and more Mahalo results are compiled every day, and you can even send in a request for a page you'd like the Mahalo folks to tackle for you - this is just one of the special features that sets Mahalo apart from the rest.
What do Mahalo search results look like?
Basically, you get one page with relevant results for the topic that you are looking for; JUST one page with many links and summaries, rather than thousands of links that might not actually be relevant to what you're searching for.For instance, my search for cheese came back with Wikipedia info, recipes, blogs, and news (yes, apparently there is cheese news). You're also given some fast facts about cheese, the chance to email this search results page to someone else, and a direct link to your results.
My Mahalo Wish List
Even though I am very impressed with the depth and breadth of Mahalo's directory so far, there are a couple of things I would like to see:
- Random page button: This would be a fun addition - sure wouldn't add to my productivity, but still.
- Advanced search options. Since the directory is still relatively small at this point, advanced search options aren't strictly a neccessity; would be nice to have though.
- A way to save favorites within Mahalo. It would be interesting to see individual Mahalo user pages with the ability to save, share, and comment on specific Mahalo pages.
- Customizable categories. There are a lot of categories on the home page - I'd like to be able to pick and choose which categories are the most meaningful to me (this would be something similar to the new Ask interface).
- The ability to subscribe to individual pages. I should be able to subscribe via RSS to individual Mahalo pages if I want to monitor that page's changes and updates.
Why should I use Mahalo?
This gathering of relevant, spam-free, completely on-topic results all in one place is what makes Mahalo such a pleasure to use - not to mention highly efficient. I would definitely recommend adding Mahalo to your list of favorite search tools.
