Fast AlltheWeb with $750 prize for the best AlltheWeb design

(July 17 2002) Fast launches an AlltheWeb design competition based on the new Alchemist CSS feature.

There exists some fundamental misconceptions about the alchemists. Chemistry text books and popular science tends to depict them as naive wizards trying to transmute soil into gold.

Admittedly there where a few renaissance alchemists that tried to make gold, but most of them were actually trying to transform their own psyche. The final goal of their journey, the philosophers' stone, was actually a symbol for the mystical union of opposites, the whole soul.

(As you all have read Harry Potter, you know about this, although I hate to say, the American version of the book called it "the sorcerer's stone", ah well...)

It might be that Fast didn't base its Alchemist technology on our Jungian understanding of "the royal art", but it definitely goes beyond the limits of pure engineering.

For the first time in history a search engine has opened the doors for the artistic creativity of its users, adding a spiritual dimension to the gentle art of Internet searching, and as we said in our first presentation of Alchemy: We like it.

Now, if you are experiencing a high "huh?" factor, and words like cascading style sheets, XHTML and so forth means nothing to you, you should really read the first article before you go on. Don't worry, we will be here when you come back.

The short version is that Fast lets you code a CSS file that can be used to alter the lay out or design of the AlltheWeb search engine.

Having read the previous article, you will know that Pandia argued that AlltheWeb ought to arrange a CSS design contest, and ask designers to send in their favorite CSS-files.

We also proposed that people should be able to point their set ups to relevant CSS-files on the AlltheWeb server, thus allowing people that know nothing about CSS to customize their search page using one of the predefined winner designs.

And this is exactly what Fast is going to do.

We would, of course, like to take credit for the whole idea, but we believe Jami Axelrod, Senior Product Marketing Manager of AlltheWeb, when she say that they had thought about a competition before launching the feature. Input from Pandia and others did engourage them take the plunge, however.

"The original idea behind the Alchemist was to let technology minded designers make their own look and feel," Axelrod says. "A lot of people say to us that they would like to see other peoples' work, which is why we ask coders to send in their best design. We will allow other visitors to use the winner designs."

The competition has three categories:

• "Simple, Yet Beautiful"- the most minimalistic design
• "To CSS Infinity and Beyond" - the best use of CSS technology
• "So 22nd Century" - the most innovative, best looking design

The winners of each of them will get a US$ 750 gift certificate for Amazon.com. Second Prize in each category get a $350 gift certificate, third place $50, while the first 100 submissions will get a "True Alchemist" T-shirt.

And yes, the winner designs will be made available in a way that means that even "non-techies" may use them. Fast will not let the proposals influence the standard design of the AlltheWeb site, however.

Axelrod and Director Peter Gorman underline that AlltheWeb will remain a technology show case for Fast. They are not trying to compete with Google or -- more significantly - important customers like Lycos.

"We are the engine under the hood," Axelrod says, although she is clearly pleased with the fact that recent publicity has brought in more visitors.

The competition ends September 22.

Yesterday Fast announced that CareerBuilder, a large online job recruitment site, has selected FAST Data Search technology to optimize their search facilities. Fast's PR strategies seem to be working.

Go to the AlltheWeb Alchemist customization page. Read Fast's presentation of the contest.

An example of a CSS redesign:

More search engine news...

The Pandia Post is our free bimonthly newsletter on Internet searching, search engines and directories.

We will give you the latest news from the world of Internet exploring, useful tips on how to improve your searching skills or search engine ranking, as well as information on the development of the Pandia Search Central.

We will never give your address to any other company or organization.