The Algorithm Has a Thing for Housewives
by John Paczkowski
Posted on March 5, 2008 at 8:22 AM PT
Looks like that big shake-up at Ask was so violent it muddled the brains of the company’s executive leadership.
This morning the company announced plans to retool itself as a search engine for housewives. Seems Ask.com believes its core demographic is married women living in the American South and Midwest looking for information about health, hobbies, family matters, children’s homework, recipes and entertainment–i.e., married women who already use Google.
“If we can do a better job of understanding who these customers are and answering their questions, we will grow,” newly installed CEO Jim Safka told Reuters. “What this means is everything we do will be put through this strategic filter.”
