Searching without Sin
We have seen numerous new search engines arise in recent years, some of which attract massive media attention, take Wolfram Alpha for example. This “Answer Engine” promised to be the next big thing, the David that would topple the mighty Google Goliath. What happened was rather different though, yes it was exciting waiting for the site to go live and yes it was fun messing around with it when it did go live, if only for a day or two. You see what was wrong with Wolfram Alpha and what is still wrong with it is the fact that it’s not good enough to make you break your habit. Don’t get me wrong, the technology is spectacular and I tip my hat to Mr Wolfram’s genius but unless you need to visualize extremely complex equations then the system is nothing more than a novelty.
Not all search engines enjoy the same level of attention as Wolfram Alpha does. Today I stumbled across a search engine that took me by surprise, it’s not technologically advanced but it promises to provide better search results for millions of people. How? By filtering out potentially illicit material deemed to be “haram” or forbidden. Yes, welcome to ImHalal, the world’s first Islamic search engine. Recently developed in Holland it not only blocks unwanted material but also gives you a “haram level” of your search. In the name of research I found that Jennifer Aniston gives no Haram warning whereas Angelina Jolie has a Haram Level of 1 out of 3. So apart from telling us that Brad made the wrong choice, this search engine proves that is fairly moderate in its filtering.
The engine works by cross referencing search terms with a database of well known forbidden words, in 15 languages, such as sex-related terms that give a Haram Level of 3. Other terms are treated with less strictness, “beer” and “pork” receives a modest warning level of 1, whilst “drugs” earns 2. Before we all get on the our soap boxes and rant about freedom of information, you will be pleased to know that even if you get a warning level of 1 or 2 you can still view the results by clicking on a link. Only a level 3 warning blocks the results entirely.
Looking at this development from a marketing point of view, ImHalal seems like a very tempting alternative for the worlds 100 million online Muslims (and growing). ImHalal might prove to be a perfect advertising platform for those targeting a specific demographic. Whatever the future holds for ImHalal, this blogger for one has respect for any site that dares to defy Rule 34 of the internet!
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