Just after midnight, the online search engine RushmoreDrive.com was officially launched into cyberspace. Its goal is to become the premiere search engine for the Web’s black community. The site is a venture by Black Web Enterprises, a company owned by IAC, the $6 billion giant behind Match.com and Ask.com, among others. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, RushmoreDrive.com promises to deliver an unparalleled digital experience by combining mainstream search results with those tailored to black audiences, which includes African Americans, Afro-Latinos, Caribbean-Americans, and others of African heritage.
The idea for the search engine, BWE’s flagship product, is the vision of Johnny Taylor, who was appointed president and CEO of BWE, and his executive team. “I wanted to do something for our community,” says Taylor, a former IAC human resources executive. The Florida native says he wanted to design an online vehicle that addresses and delivers specific information related to the needs of black Web users.
IAC announced the creation of BWE in April 2007. By September 2007, Taylor and his 35-member international team had begun creating and assembling the technologies that would give birth to RushmoreDrive.com. Taylor’s first major undertaking was to meet with technologists to find out if there was a way to compartmentalize certain portions of the Web. The goal was for users to be able to locate an aggregated amount of information based on the relevance of the search to the user as opposed to a search based on the size and scope of the entire Web.
The design work on RushmoreDrive.com was completed this past March. It represents a multi-layered solution to some of the initial questions that Taylor had when the search engine just a concept. Instead of mimicking other search engines, RushmoreDrive.com employs a patent-pending technology which enables the search engine to identify sites with heavy online traffic from black users and elevate relevant information in the way in which it is listed. The search engine also has several additional features including a job search component and a news portion that presents several points of view on current events coming from black media sources and outlets.
Taylor realizes RushmoreDrive.com is undertaking a massive task by attempting to encompass the digital cultural palette of the black community. To help achieve its objective, the site has partnered with a number of key organizations, including the National Urban League, the National Association of African Americans in Human Resources, the National Alliance of Black School Educators, and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
“This is a new kind of search,” Taylor says. “[RushmoreDrive.com]…is an identity search. We don’t need to be segregated. If I can deliver knowledge then we [can be] in a whole different place. We need to be counted. We can create a worldwide presence for black people.”
You can try http://www.wix.com for starters. It’s free and very easy to use. You pay if you would like to upgrade but you can do a lot with the free one. My boyfriend is using it for a starter but he pays so it won’t have wix.com posted on his website. Check it out. http://www.art-of-reason.com.
Those of you who are looking for an OUTSTANDING graphic design artist for your brand, please hit up Justin Nash jnashdesign@gmail.com he did my website AND business cards at http://www.inctutoring.com
Unbelievable stuff.
I have been tossing around using blogging. I’m not totally sure how to get started or where I should get started. I would appreciate any advise.
You can start with WordPress.com to help create your blog. It’s fairly easy to use and to keep the content fresh you would want to add at least twice a week.
Branding is so important, even if people don’t know my name they remember me as my brand, “The Turkey Lady”
I will really look more deeper at my brand image and creating the brand loyalty. So, I can position myself in a better mode
blogging is something I just havent been able to get into. I will have to be more vigilant.
My understanding is that what your organization looks like in print, web or any advertising media…MATTERS. Also you must want to ‘own’ your niche market.
GREAT INFORMATION ONCE AGAIN.
Picking a Niche and owning it was the highlight of this session. i am really enjoying these classes.
Very good information!
I have a clear vision for my company. We are building strong relationships with our target audience by running our own social networks. The trademark of our logo (see the icon for this comment) is in the process of being approved. We kept our logo very simple and memorable, with the name of our business within the logo itself. We still have to establish ourselves as industry experts. We are going to use social media and blogging to accomplish that goal.
This is actually a biblical concept – “And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.” Habakkuk 2:2
Communicate Clearly!!!!
I have a set up but my brand is not working so i will change the format and concept of my web site soon i hope you all will like it.
The answer to the points problem may be in the rules, which I believe have change in order to deny that there is a problem with the points system, it states as follow: COMPLETION OF A TASK DOES NOT INDICATE THAT THE ENTRANT HAS BEEN OR WILL BE AWARDED THE POINTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT TASK. SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT, IN ITS SOLE AND ABSOLUTE DISCRETION, TO REJECT, DISQUALIFY AND OR REMOVE ANY ENTRANT AND/OR THE POINTS (OVER 5,000 OF MY POINTS HAS BEEN REMOVED) ASSOCIATED WITH ANY TASK FOR ANY ENTRANT THAT VIOLATES THESE OFFICIAL RULES WITHOUT ANY NOTIFICATION OR WARNING SO THAT EXPLAINS IT IN A NUT SHELL THOSE OF US WHO ARE NOT RECEIVING POINTS OR HAD POINTS TAKEN AWAY MAY HAVE VIOLATED THE RULES HOW? YOU WILL NEVER KNOW BECAUSE THEY WILL NOT TELL YOU SO YOU CAN JUST STOP CRYING AND WORRYING ABOUT IT, JUST DEAL WITH IT AN MOVE ON. I READ THE RULES CAN’T FIGURE OUT HOW I VIOLATED THEM, I KNOW I’M A BIT OF A REBEL AT TIMES, SO I QUESS I HAVE BEEN EXPEL THAT IS WHY THEY REMOVED MY POINTS LOL I HAVE BIGGER FISH TO FRY ONE THING FOR SURE THEY ARE GOING TO REMEMBER MY NAME http://lucubrate.co
I been following this motto from the beginning. http://www.imopcustodialservices.com
Blogging certainly seems to be important based on the research I have done on online marketing. One issue that seems to arise for bloggers is finding content to blog about. One strategy that I came across is to share with your audience resources that you found which they may find useful while staying in the confines of your business and related topics. Google Alert is a great tool to find content of interest which you can review, repost, and provide insight on.