In an attempt to represent a voice in today’s young adult constituency, I would like to express my thoughts on the future of Wikiasari and, furthermore, on the innovation of Internet search engines.

Wikiasari is a new and highly sophisticated Internet search engine developed by Jimmy Whales, who is the main guy behind Wikipedia, the largest, most comprehensive encyclopedia on the web. Whales has high hopes of surpassing Google’s ability to “produce consistently relevant results.” Despite a recent lack of confidence Wikiasari’s future success, Whales seems to be keeping his cool. In an interview for the January Issue of Businessweek Magazine, Whales expressed that “[he wished he] could write a Google-killing project in three months, but it [was] going to take a little bit longer.”

With Wikiasari’s release scheduled for later this month, Google fans have something to worry about. Whether or not Wikiasari will succeed with its proposition to take the limelight from Google is entirely dependant upon its ability to hit the market with an eye-catching, controversial bang.

According to Catherine Holahan of Businessweek Magazine, aside from Jimmy Whales’s current web encyclopedia powerhouse Wikipedia.com being “one of the Internet’s top 15 online destinations worldwide,” the Wikiasari project is financially backed by the Omidyar Network. In case you are wondering what that is, it’s owned by Internet mastermind Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay. Additionally, Wikiasari is also backed by Internet superstore Amazon.com. The people behind this project are successful, tech savvy entrepreneurs who are at the top of their game. They are the best of the best.

So, to answer the question of Wikiasari’s fate, the new and improved search engine has already begun its climb to the top simply by challenging Google. People will be eager to find out which search engine is really the best. What will answer their question better than checking out Wikiasari? Nothing! That’s exactly what people will do.

What the critics fail to realize is that the search engine business is entirely based on hits. That’s right, hits. Let’s take a quick look at the current industry leader, Google. Why do people use Google to help them find what they are looking for on the Internet? Simple. People use Google because other people say Google is the best. Yes, of course, one could easily argue that Google is also number one because of its award-winning, user-friendly, easy to use interface, but who’s to say that someone can’t come up with something better? Why did millions of Yahoo customers start using Google? Personally, I switched because I heard somewhere, from someone, that Google was better. Once I checked it out and discovered that it worked fairly well, I bookmarked it as my homepage.

What people have to remember is that search engine consumers include everyone who uses the Internet. Whether you are the CEO of an Internet marketing company researching your competition or a college student, like me, drowning in beer and homework – that’s right, I put beer first – the search engine known as the “best” will get your business. Wikiasari will prosper and rise to the top, just like the people behind it, because it will challenge Google with the claim of simply being a better search site. As long as Wikiasari lives up to its claims of facilitating improved, more consistent search results and continues to advertise itself as the Internet’s most efficient, reliable search engine, it is only a matter of time before its popularity surpasses that of Google. With the economy struggling, people are desperately trying to find cheaper, more efficient products. This mind-set doesn’t limit itself to tangible items. It includes things like social services, interest rates and, yes, even Internet searching options. Although Google will remain a strong contender in the search engine business, its recent collaborations with new companies like Youtube.com will eventually lead the multi-million dollar company in other unique directions. Happy searching, and cheers to Wikiasari.