Update: Unfortunately, Mystery Google is no longer available – that’s too bad…
I just browse the web today and I stumble on something that has caught people and authoritative sites’ attention, namely Mystery Google, a Google-powered search engine with a twist.
Just like the Mystery Google search site tag line said, you get what the person before you searched for. In my opinion, it’s just like Google’s “I’m feeling lucky” button on steroid (or on drugs?)
I’m not sure who own the search site – The site does say, “GOOGLE is a trademark of Google Inc.” – which means, the site is supposedly owned by Google. But looking at the uncommon ads and the ad server – ads served by Adtegrity.net, I’m not even sure it’s Google’s.
Never mind who owns the site – The search site itself is very interesting.
Just like the Google search engine, all you need to do is to enter the terms you are looking for, as usual… But, wait – Instead of the top results for your search term, you will receive a totally different search results for a totally different search term!
Here’s how Mystery Google works: Whatever terms I entered into the search box, I will receive the search results from the person who entered a search term just before me.
My test(s): I entered a term “entrepreneurship”, and look what I’ve received – surprise! It’s a search results for the term “kiss me?” – Kiss Me Wikipedia entry, Kiss Me lyrics, Kissme the Java VM for Unix… What?
Let’s try another one (boy, it’s surprisingly addictive!): I just entered a term “mystery google”, and my search results are all about… tacos. I do enjoy the image results for tacos, the one with “Say no to drugs, say yes to tacos.” The search results make me want to eat a taco, to be honest with you.
A simple, yet interesting concept – Amusing, almost feels a bit weird and mysterious (hence the site name – Mystery Google,) but it can surely be very addictive, I must say. It’s like opening a Pandora Box or simply a box of chocolate – You never know what you’ll get.
The site is really getting good press coverage and buzz on the Internet and blogosphere, from authoritative sites like Mashable and many others.
Nevertheless, Mystery Google is another example of how doing an ‘ordinary’ thing differently can be a big success online.
Ivan Widjaya
Mystery Google addict