Am I the only person who's suspicious of a site that purports to be from Google, yet is not on a Google domain, doesn't work without the "www" and whose credibility comes entirely from the fact that there's a Google logo on it?
EDIT: I'm expecting it to be a real thing, but it's just weird that sources like TechCrunch and Fast Company don't have any statement from the company, just a "tipster," and it's not on a Labs domain like most Google Labs products.
Domain wdyl.com:
Margaret McLaughlin
76 Ninth Avenue
New York, NY 10013 US
Administrative contact:
Technical contact:
Billing contact:
Margaret McLaughlin
76 Ninth Avenue
New York, NY 10013 US
Phone: +1.2125659741
Fax:
Record dates:
Record created on: 2005-09-27 18:18:10 UTC
Record modified on: 2011-06-24 16:36:56 UTC
Record expires on: 2011-09-27 UTC
Nameservers:
myns2.fabulous.com:
208.48.81.137
myns1.fabulous.com:
Note taht the domain registrar "FABULOUS" is specifically intended as a service for "Domainers" people who buy and park||minimally build out||put up forsale signs on domains with the intention of turning a profit.
Check out the terms of opening a Fabulous account:
Request Membership
To be eligible for a Fabulous account we require
that you meet at least one of the following:
Domain portfolio must generate US$750+ per month
Transfer 750+ domains to Fabulous
If your portfolio generates US$750 a month or you are
willing to transfer 750+ domains to Fabulous, please
complete the form below.
So WDYL.com on a domainer's registrar and also a pretty shitty site? Yeah, more than just a little suspicious. I'm feeling pretty secure in saying that it's 100% not google .. but I'd love to know a little more about this Margaret McLaughlin I bet a search would turn up a number of other domains that she's got her whois information tacked on to.
EDIT oh my ... would you look at that. 76 Ninth Avenue in New York is apparently Google's new Manhattan office! Maybe it IS google.
Damn. Now I've gone from thinking it's fake to thinking it has some chance of being real.
$ host www.wdyl.com
www.wdyl.com is an alias for ghs.google.com.
ghs.google.com is an alias for ghs.l.google.com.
ghs.l.google.com has address 209.85.147.121
$ whois 209.85.147.121
Google Inc. GOOGLE (NET-209-85-128-0-1) 209.85.128.0 -209.85.255.255
and the domain wdyl.com is registered to someone who purports to have an @google.com email address.
but ghs.google.com seems to be the host used by google apps:
The site is awful, no explanation at all on the frontpage - it just asks you to provide them with something you love without any incentive. Then there's the slider thing on the top left of the search results which adds nothing at all.
"Explore your mom in 3D" was pretty amusing though.
I used it on my phone and entered 'craft beer', and I was actually impressed. I don't think it means to offer anything new and revolutionary, but it does a great job of showing people how they can use the web in different ways (outside of just searching) to interact with things they enjoy. This would be great for people who are new to the internet. Obviously, HN is not the intended audience.
The idea is great but somehow the suggestions are pretty weak. I don't know if it can be refined to something relevant, even with results improved with user tracking data.
I guess the intention is not to 'search' but to say that you love the terms you entered in the textbox. So, IMO the heart button looks very suitable for that.
Indeed. Perhaps the better title would be "what do you care about?", "what are you passionate about?" or "what are you interested in?" Asking what people love doesn't really explain what the site is for.
EDIT: I'm expecting it to be a real thing, but it's just weird that sources like TechCrunch and Fast Company don't have any statement from the company, just a "tipster," and it's not on a Labs domain like most Google Labs products.