Googlefight Explained

Googlefight was a website that output a comparison of the number of search results returned by Google for two queries, presented as the result of a fight. It was a project of Abondance, the company of Olivier Andrieu.[1]

History and description

Googlefight was developed by Andrieu with two friends.[2] The results of comparing two Google searches are presented as a bar graph using animated HTML segments, presented as the outcome of a fight. Historically the results were displayed graphically in a mixed Flash and JavaScript animation, with two animated stick figures fighting on screen after the queries are entered and before an animated bar graph appeared showing the results.[3] The stick figure animation had no impact on the results.

Between 15 and 27 June 2015, the website was updated to a new version, designed by Andrieu, which the About page stated was powered by Semrush and took into account Google search volume as well as the number of results returned.[2]

The site also expanded in 2015 from French and English versions to 11 geographic versions, including German, Italian, Spanish, and Belgian.[4]

Uses

The site is used for entertainment, for example comparing Microsoft and Google, with Google the winner.[5] The results may be comforting, funny or self-referential.[6] [7] It has been used to check spellings.[8] It can also be used as a measure of competitiveness; Salam Pax posted a Googlefight result between himself and Raed Jarrar on their blog in 2002, as their worldwide readership rose in the prelude to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[9]

Googlefight has been highlighted as an example of a site making money from contextual advertising, as well as one that derives its longevity from community participation (in this case, the always changing search terms).[10]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Olivier Andrieu . Nouvelle version pour Googlefight! . Abondance.com . February 7, 2005 . French .
  2. Web site: About us. Googlefight. October 11, 2018. Googlefight was originally designed by several friends (Sébastien, Frank and Olivier). This new version is conceived by Olivier.. October 11, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181011172947/https://www.googlefight.com/about.php. dead.
  3. Web site: Googlefight result 'Keep vs Delete' . Googlefight . 2 August 2016.
  4. Web site: Olivier Andrieu . Googlefight s'internationalise en 11 versions géographiques . Abondance.com . September 3, 2015 . French .
  5. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,107828-page,1-c,currentevents/article.html Plugged In: Gaga Over Google Games
  6. News: Extra: Google games. Ellen Henderson. July 6, 2006. The Dallas Morning News.
  7. News: Googlefight settles any score. The Washington Post. March 6, 2005.
  8. News: Catherine Rampell . You're a Nazi, and other shocking truths according to Trump's fact-checking rules . The Washington Post . December 3, 2015 . I occasionally use Googlefight to check the more commonly used spelling of a word. .
  9. Book: Salam Pax: The Clandestine Diary of an Ordinary Iraqi. Salam Pax. Salam Pax. 2003. Grove Press. 0-8021-4044-0. The Original blog post was October 9, 2002.
  10. Book: Google Advertising Tools. Harold Davis. 2006. O'Reilly Media. 0-596-10108-2.