The market dominance attributed to Google’s online search engine leaves the California-based tech giant well placed to weather the challenge of any rival platform brave enough to strap on a pair of gloves and step into the search arena. Bearing that in mind, today we bid farewell to Wikia Search.
Wikia Search falls as Wales pulls the plug. Image: Wiki/Wikipedia.
Citing the current economic situation as a contributing factor in the decision to close the search outlet, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales confirmed via his official blog that Wikia Search has failed to mirror the level of success gathered by other aspects under the Wikia.com umbrella.
“In a different economy, we would continue to fund Wikia Search indefinitely,” explained Wales. “It’s something I care about deeply. I will return [sic] again and again in my career to search, either as an investor, a contributor, a donor, or a cheerleader.”
With Wikia Search shelved for the foreseeable future, Wales said that freed resources are to be subsequently re-directed towards other Wikia.com properties, especially the recently re-launched Wikianswers Q&A service.
In related news, Wales was keen to focus on the “tremendous growth” that has bolstered Wikia.com’s presence as the Internet’s fifth fastest growing member community destination.
According to user figures provided by Nielsen NetView, Wikia.com registered 172 percent year-on-year growth in February, increasing from 1.38 million to 3.76 million.
In terms of competition, the space is presently dominated by micro-blogging service Twitter, which has posted phenomenal growth of 1,382 percent, moving from a mere 475,000 users in February 08 to 7.04 million in February 09.
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