June 12, 2006

Reflecting On Direct Hit, The Google Rival

Perspective: The man who would be Sergey from News.com talks with Gary Culliss, formerly of Direct Hit, on cashing out of search early on. Google and Direct Hit came along at the same time (see Counting Clicks and Looking at Links from me in 1998). Ask Jeeves bought Direct Hit, making the original group involved with it a good chunk of money. But Direct Hit effectively died as a brand and a technology while Google....

I disagree with News.com that in 1998, Google was somehow lumped in with "non-household name" sites while Direct Hit was the shining hope. They both got a lot of attention, but Google very quickly surpassed Direct Hit as the wunderkind to watch. A little bit of history and reflection, in this Q&A.

Posted by Danny Sullivan on June 12, 2006 10:19 AM