Ask.com closes search service



    Many of us remember the Ask.com service, which was quite popular among domestic users - because this service existed even before the advent of Google and Yandex, this is generally the first of its kind service, which had no analogues. Unfortunately, the developers of the service could not cope with the emerging competitors, and were unable to adapt to the rapidly changing world of search engines. As a result, the company’s management announced the closure of the Ask.com search division, which does not cope with its direct responsibilities. It is worth noting that Ask.com appeared in 1995, called AskJeeves.com.

    The developers of the service are two Berkeley programmers, whose names are also familiar to many: Garret Gruner and David Worten. Currently, all the assets of the company they create are owned by InterActiveCorp. It is a pity, of course, that the pioneers in this field were unable to cope with new tasks that arise almost every day. However, you should pay tribute to people who were able to start a new chapter in the history of the Web, a chapter called "Search the Internet."

    The closure of the search service, according to company management, does not mean that the company itself ceases to exist - in fact, the service will continue to work, but only in the form of a “question-answer” functionality. In principle, there are a lot of such services, probably, in every developed country there is an analogue - but Ask.com is still relatively popular, so such a service is in demand. Well, since there is a demand, there is a supply, right?

    The closure of the company's search department led to the dismissal of 130 people who would not be employed in other departments of the company. In addition, the company will close its offices in China, Hangzhou, and in the United States, in the city of Edison. It is worth noting that until the close of Ask.com owned 3.7% of the search market in the United States. In principle, it’s pretty good considering the number of users on the Web right now.

    Via Yahoo

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