I don’t know if many people remember this, but there was some drama a year ago with the launch of a new search engine called Cuil (pronounced cool… like cool beans!). The search engine was created by a former employee of Google, Anna Patterson and her husband, Tom Costello. When I used Cuil for the first time, I really didn’t think it was all that cool. To me, it seemed like a dark color spin off version of Google. (Go figure, right?)

Many years ago when Google took search by storm, I believe that they too also recognized the fact that “search” really isn’t the most important thing to people who use the Internet. Personalization and communication were vital too. While indeed there was a huge buzz about Google, many people just couldn’t make that official “switch” from setting their home page set from places such as Yahoo over to them. Reason being, Google didn’t provide everything an Internet user needed in order to be called home.

Google didn’t have email, they didn’t have forums and groups and they didn’t have news. Over the years Google has been quick to recognize this and has made efforts towards providing Internet users with these personalized features so that they indeed can called “Home”. Many people now set Google to their browsers home page. Granted, I don’t think Google does a very good job letting people know about their services, but at least they try. Cuil.com right now is what I would a black sheep duplicate of Google five years ago. Cuil.com’s home page is black with a search bar, while Google’s home page was — five years ago — white with a search bar.

So here we are, one year later, and what has Cuil done since then? I haven’t really heard any news about them other than the celebration of their first year anniversary and some more recent news that have rubbed a few people the wrong way. As it seems, Cuil decided to write a review and provide their opinion about Bing. In their post, they explained about how they performed various tests such as query tests and spam tests and issued out some fancy numbers that apparently is supposed to make Cuil look “Cool.” I am not really buying into it. But, most importantly… their review isn’t going to make me change my homepage from Google to Cuil. Nor would it make me change from Yahoo! or MSN or BING to Cuil. Nor would it even make feel compelled to actually use their search engine.

I have to admit, I’d bet the farm that Bing will find success quicker than Cuil (Actually, they already have.) I mean, really… why would anyone try to duplicate Google. Or, for that matter, why would anyone try to create a new search engine? I have to admire Cuil for trying, but things really don’t look very bright in their future. Perhaps, that is why they decided to use a black background on their site. Maybe Cuil would have a chance if they provided useful things to users. On the surface of things – and I am sure there is plenty below – it seems like Cuil is nothing more than a lower quality copy of Google. Seriously, what does Cuil have that Google, Bing, and Yahoo! don’t? If there is something I am missing, please… I would love to know.

It is interesting to see how much the Internet has changed over the years and amazing to see all of the cool things you can do online. With that said, most everything that users do online can be accessed or performed from their web based start page, or now called a personalized homepage.

The question to ask is who offers the best personalized homepage? Over the last few years, there has been so much focus on who provides the best search (i.e. Google, Yahoo, MSN). There doesn’t seem to be much discussion about personalization. In my opinion, I think personalization is very important.

The situation as hand is that each major search engines function quite well. They are all accurate and they are all going to return relevant results. Granted, these results may vary, but honestly… who cares. If you live in Dallas TX and you’re seeking the best deals on a dozen of roses, I am confident that you can use any of the leading search engines to find what you’re looking for.

To me, it’s all about personalization, and which search site can provide the best options. Google does a great job at providing services. The problem with Google is that they don’t do a very good job marketing their services. In other words, not many people know about their services. For example, it took me a few months to discover Google Reader. The only reason why I discovered it was because a friend told me.

As far as personalization goes. Google does provide them, but from what it seems, their definition of personalization more seems to focus on providing uniqueness to end users instead. In other words, Google’s personalization is more about providing results tailored to the end users trends.

Then you have Yahoo!, which, in my opinion, I feel is doing great. Recently, Yahoo! redesigned their homepage and packed in some really amazing features. The key to their update was “personalization” and providing users with new drag and drop modules of some of the more popular web services such as FaceBook.

All in all, I have some concerns with Google. I really feel like their lack of “personalization” in the terms of giving users the ability to be creative in customization may lead to Yahoo! having an increased chance of catching up to them. Of course there is Bing, but I don’t really thing Bing is much of a threat.

My opinion about Bing is that users are confused. Microsoft has rebranded too many times and it is created a lot of confusion among users. MSN.com does provide a lot of personalization, but I really don’t see anything happening anytime soon. And yes, this remains the same even though Microsoft and Yahoo! are migrating a mixture of their services.

So what do you think? What do you look for in a personalized homepage? Do you look to find “Drag and Drop” modules for FaceBook and Twitter and do you like to be shown about new features? Or, do you like to randomly discover new things that aren’t even advertised?

Can Bing overtake Google in the search engine war? And what about Yahoo!

Over the last month I have personally seen many television commercials, radio broadcasts, and Internet campaigns promoting the new Bing search engine. I have to admit, Bing is doing much better than I would have thought, but the question still remains: Can Bing overtake Google? And what about Yahoo!

Bing.com looks appealing and simple. The homepage is very attractive and quite well designed. I have to admit, that if I were a former user having my homepage set to Yahoo!, I would be more likely to switch to Bing than Google, simply due to first impressions based off appearance.

Being honest with yourself, which site would you choose, assuming you wanted to move away from Yahoo! and also assuming that you didn’t know that Google had as many free services as they provide? Obviously, once a user creates a Google account, then a world can be opened up to them. However, that really isn’t quite known unless a user takes the step towards creating that account or hearing about it from someone or something else.

Once logged in, then an array of free services are opened up to users within Google. But, once again, how well known are these services to mainstream users?

And then we have the brand new Yahoo! homepage added into the mix. I have to admit, this new enhancement is good. Real good. I do think there is some risk that Yahoo! waited way too long to release a web 2.0 update, but even still, I think Yahoo might get some really great results in the upcoming weeks and months.

I understand that Google probably provides better search, and more free services to users, that isn’t the debate. What I want to know is if Bing, and maybe Yahoo! will finally overtake Google in popularity. For some people, it isn’t always about search. Some people like functionality and free services. While Google provides free services, they don’t make these services known. What are your thoughts?