Google buys Aardvark - a distressing fact

(Picture taken at Trader Joe's in Templeton, CA)

Not sure what to say about this. Some facts:

1. I never heard of Aardvark.com until Google acquired about it for (drumroll) $50 Million smackers a few days ago.

2. Curious because I never heard of it before, I entered "aardvark.com" in my browser. Up popped a strange, empty website. Try it:
http://www.aardvark.com

3. Checked it out and it appears that the real address is http://www.vark.com

4. Checked WhoIs - the domain was registered in 2006. At first I thought it strange that the 4-letter domain name was available, but my experience tells me this was very possible in 2006- however it is a domain by proxy, owner hidden (also not unusual)

5. Tested the website. Surprised that I liked the interface. I asked a question. No results so far. There is a cool tool on the main page that shows recently asked questions.

6. Discovered that the guys who made the site are former Google employees. Nothing wrong with that, but do you think they knew what Google might be looking for in the future?

7. The photo above: who says a blog photo needs to relate to the topic? Or maybe it does. I need a nice bottle of two buck Chuck now.

Some stats from the Washington Post: As of October 2009, Aardvark had 90,361 users, of whom 55.9% had created content (asked or answered a question). The site?s average query volume was 3,167.2 questions per day, with the median active user asking 3.1 questions per month. (well, at least that is more than the average Twitter member tweets)

I am distressed. Hard to put my finger on the reason, though. Something along the lines of beleagured folks churning out great websites and fantastic blogs who make a dollar three eighty a week doing it.

Could this post be titled "How to make $50 Million in four years if you know the right people?"

or perhaps "No wonder there is no money left in the world?"

or maybe "Fuck it. I feel like playing Lotto!"

Are you distressed too? Hey, this is not sarcasm. I'm not good at sarcasm.


Greg Cryns
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