{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} [[File:Eurekster.png|right|thumb]] '''Eurekster''' was a [[United States]] and [[New Zealand]]{{En dash}}based company that built [[Social search|social search engines]] for use on websites, which were referred to as "swickis" (for "search plus wiki"<ref name="bambi">[http://blogs.marketwatch.com/bambi/2007/01/swicki_ready_to.html Eurekster ready to Digg?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202232053/http://blogs.marketwatch.com/bambi/2007/01/swicki_ready_to.html |date=2 February 2007 }} Market Watch Blog, 25 January 2007</ref>). The company was based in [[Christchurch]] and [[San Francisco]], California and had a team of 20 people.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Arrington |first=Michael |date=2005-11-16 |title=Hyper-Contextual Search Results with Swicki |url=https://techcrunch.com/2005/11/16/hyper-contextual-search-results-with-swicki/ |access-date=2026-05-29 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}</ref> It was co-founded by Grant Ryan and Steven Marder, who served as its chief scientist and CEO, respectively. Both also co-founded the Christchurch-based company [[SLI Systems]], which specializes in search engines that learn from users.<ref name="em">{{Cite web |title=Eurekster.com / About / Management |url=http://www.eurekster.com/about/management |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050924073512/http://www.eurekster.com/about/management |archive-date=2005-09-24 |access-date=2026-05-29 |website=www.eurekster.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Steven Marder |url=https://www.btig.com/leadership/steven-marder/ |access-date=2026-05-29 |website=BTIG |language=en-US}}</ref> Ryan also founded [[YikeBike]]. According to Marder, "Eurekster pioneered vertical, social search..."<ref name="dbn"/>
== History == Eurekster was founded on 12. December 2003<ref name=":1">https://app.companiesoffice.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/companies/1465966</ref> and launched to the public on 21 January 2004.<ref name="sew">[[Danny Sullivan (technologist)|Sullivan, Danny]]: [http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=3301481 Eurekster Launches Personalized Social Search] 21 January 2004</ref> They declared themselves as a "Search Publisher" and offered custom search bars and search results for websites such as [[Friendster|Friendster.]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Baker |first=Loren |date=2004-12-09 |title=Eurekster and Friendster Partner for Friendster Search Engine |url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/eurekster-and-friendster-partner-for-friendster-search-engine/1136/ |access-date=2026-05-29 |website=Search Engine Journal |language=en}}</ref> By November 2005 they claimed to have 25+ million monthly searches. On November 16, 2005, the Swicki search service officially launched, which allowed anyone to integrate search bars to websites. The service was based on the [[Yahoo]] search API, was completely free and was mainly used by blogs. Owners of Websites who uses Swicki were able to white or blacklist search results of websites or just let them search specific topics. (like a gaming blog just let users search for gaming content)<ref name=":0" /> By December 2006 40,000 websites used their service, resulting in 21 Million searches in November 2006. By that point new features were implemented, so that users were able to add their own search results to the service, add comments and introduced "write your own result" and "Ask the community for help" buttons. The community was also able to vote for or against results.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bradley |first=Phil |date=2006-12-14 |title=Eurekster Swicki Improvements |url=https://searchengineland.com/eurekster-swicki-improvements-10057 |access-date=2026-05-29 |website=Search Engine Land |language=en}}</ref> Also a revenue program named "SwickiADZ" was introduced, which allowed websites to earn money from users via advertisement.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eurekster to Google: Bring it on in custom search! |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/eurekster-to-google-bring-it-on-in-custom-search/ |access-date=2026-05-29 |website=ZDNET |language=en}}</ref>
In 2007, Eurekster hosted around 100,000 swickis<ref name="dbn">[http://sanfrancisco.dbusinessnews.com/shownews.php?newsid=103972&type_news=latest Eurekster Selected by AlwaysOn Media as Top 100 Private Company Award Winner Recognized for Leadership in Emerging Technology] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080202184903/http://sanfrancisco.dbusinessnews.com/shownews.php?newsid=103972&type_news=latest |date=2 February 2008 }} dBusinessNews. 18 January 2007.</ref> for various websites, which total approximately 20 million searches per month,<ref name="nzh">{{cite web |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10418912 |title=Riding high-tech wave to success |author=Griffin, Peter |date=13 January 2007 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=30 September 2011}}</ref> or around 800,000 searches per day.<ref name="sew2">Enge, Eric. [http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=3624377 Are Vertical Search Engines the Answer to Relevance?] [[Search Engine Watch]], 3 January 2007.</ref> In the same year they collected 5.5 million USD in [[Series B]] funding.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Contributor |date=2007-03-13 |title=Eurekster Gets $5.5 Million Series B for Social Search |url=https://techcrunch.com/2007/03/12/eurekster-gets-5-5-million-series-b-for-social-search/ |access-date=2026-05-29 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}</ref> In March 2008 Ryan left Eurekster to concentrate on a - then secret - project.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Free Wi-fi for Nokia users, Eurekster founder quits |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/free-wi-fi-for-nokia-users-eurekster-founder-quits/V5ETIYZOSBYCX25QA7CGTF7ULA/ |access-date=2026-05-29 |website=NZ Herald |language=en-NZ}}</ref>
The companies US division (Eurekster, Inc.) shut down on 3. January 2008 and the New Zealand division (Eurekster Limited) shut down on 6. January 2009.<ref name=":1" /><ref>https://app.companiesoffice.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/companies/1752292</ref>
Today Eurekster Swicki is part of AdMedia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eurekster Swicki for Publishers And Advertisers {{!}} AdMedia |url=https://admedia.com/eurekster/ |access-date=2026-05-29 |website=admedia.com |language=en}}</ref>
==Praise==
In May 2006, [[Red Herring (magazine)|Red Herring]] selected Eurekster as one of their favorite companies that pushed the technological limits in North America.<ref name="webpronews">Utter, David A. [http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/topnews/wpn-60-20060523EureksterReelsInRedHerringAward.html Eurekster Reels In Red Herring Award] WebProNews, 23 May 2006</ref>
Eurekster was, on 17 January 2007, announced as one of the 100 best companies by AlwaysOn Media 100. The selection was made by focusing on "innovation, market potential, commercialization, stakeholder value creation, and media attention or 'buzz'".<ref name="aom">[http://alwayson.goingon.com/permalink/post/8813 AlwaysOn Unveils the AO Media 100 Winners] 17 January 2007</ref>
== Weblinks ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061230104219/http://website-swicki-swicki.eurekster.com/google/ A Swicki with a search about "Google"] by Phil Bradley - via Archive.org * [https://web.archive.org/web/20061224221958/http://www.eurekster.com/ Eurekster Website]
== References == {{reflist}}
[[Category:Technology companies of New Zealand]] [[Category:Information technology in New Zealand]] [[Category:Social networking services]] [[Category:Social search]]