consider distributing its directory for free like the Open Directory. Go.com also goes a step further and infuses some opinion in its directory by rating sites with one to three stars.
Yahoo is paying attention, although Yahoo executives say the two directories don't really compete head-to-head. "It's a little bit of a flawed comparison because they seem to be embarking on a different task. One of their biggest benefits is being able to scale to the growing volume online. They cover more ground," said Srinija Srinivasan, Yahoo vice president and editor-in-chief. Yahoo isn't going after quantity, but after the most relevant sites, she said.
LookSmart (LOOK) and Snap.com are also building directories. But LookSmart has the most to lose. It's already lost Lycos to the Open Directory Project. AltaVista has added Open Directory to its search site, downplaying its earlier-established connection with LookSmart.
But LookSmart maintains its trained staff and editors with graduate degrees in library science can provide high quality, which is more important than broad coverage.
"My gut feeling is that free is attractive, but people will see what more we bring to the table when it comes down to it," said Kate Wingerson, editor-in-chief of LookSmart, which has about 220 editors and 1.3 million entries in its directory. "We can offer that stamp of quality, that it's been through our standards" process.
AltaVista heaps higher praise on Open Directory. "The Open Directory advantage is that it is more scalable and secondly, you can take advantage of the passionate people out there who really know a tremendous amount about their subject area," said Tracy Roberts, director of marketing for AltaVista search.
The other major attraction to search sites is the fact that Open Directory is free. In order to use it sites must simply attribute Open Directory, link back to the site and offer information on how people can become editors.
Tolles and others involved in the Open Directory talk loftily about the noble aspect to the project, but Netscape isn't doing it entirely out of altruism. The company benefits from the exposure its open distribution brings and the notoriety of being the Web's fastest-growing directory.
"Look at how much it would cost to get ads on AltaVista, HotBot, Lycos, AT&T. It would be more than anyone's ever spent on a web campaign," says Tolles. "We just think it's cool that they're all competing on top of our data."
Meanwhile, the Open Directory's use of volunteers may raise some questions. In what could be a precedent-setting case, AOL's use of volunteers for its Community Guides section has prompted a class action lawsuit and an investigation by the Department of Labor into whether the situation violates the Fair Labor Standards Act. Although Netscape doesn't make a profit off its directory and the main Open Directory Project site is commercial-free, Netscape does sell ads on the search result pages at Netcenter.
Netscape executives get testy when asked if the Open Directory's use of contributors might put their work under similar scrutiny. "Netscape's Open Directory Project has never been the subject of a Department of Labor investigation," spokesman Nathan Tyler said in a carefully crafted response.
However, a labor attorney points out that for-profit organizations that don't pay people for their work are still getting free labor. As a for-profit company, Netscape wouldn't be doing anything just for the sake of being saintly and is ultimately deriving some financial benefit from the Open Directory, said Bill Sokol of the Van Bourg law firm in Oakland, Calif.
Open Directory participants see no end in sight for growth. Their goal is to create the most comprehensive Web directory.
"The most significant thing is it's really set off a revolution in terms of search engines," says Sullivan of Search Engine Watch. "In 1996, of the top six search engines, only Yahoo was human-powered. Today ... four out of six are powered by humans."
