“In a deal that will most certainly boost the validity and
presence of the search engine Google, Virgin has just used it
to replace Excite as the search engine that powers the Virgin
super-site, Virgin.net. The site, which attracts around 15
million page impressions a month from a user base of approximately
1 million, caters for a host of customer requirements with its
entertainment and leisure guide. And is firmly recognised as quite
a force in the UK marketplace.”
“Quite why it has dropped a high-profile service like that
provided by Excite is unclear as no statements appear to have been
made about the deal. However, we are more than prepared to
speculate that it is simply because Google is an extremely powerful
search facility. It was apparently created by two Stanford
graduates, allegedly in the William Gates building at the
University, who set about creating a search engine the returned
decent results – rather than the endless garbage returned by many
of the facilities.”
“With this end in mind the two of them developed a model that
essentially guesstimates the importance and relevance of pages by
measuring the quantity and quality of the links – which we have
found returns incredibly useful results. The pair based the system
on Linux, for obvious reasons, and set about gaining some backing
for the venture, which they finally secured in the shape of a $25
million pay-out from the likes of Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia
Capital – two rival VC firms in Silicon Valley.”