Amazon and A9

Looks like Amazon is giving up on some of its search engine dreams. A9 is now being directed to improve Amazon's own site search functionality rather than build a destination site of its own. Not sure why I find this news somewhat disappointing (if unsurprising).

Ultimately, the disintermediation of Internet usage from current top sites is coming from services that aren't focused on web search, but rather providing relevancy to the user whether user-selected or dynamic in nature. Sites like Netvibes, Live.com, Meebo and MySpace are building pretty strong momentum here. When Hitwise reported that 10-12% of incoming Google traffic was being sourced by Myspace, this was just one example of this trend. As top webtops, chat interfaces, blog aggregators and others drive true relevancy to users based on their shared interests, personal networks and like communities, the increasing number of Internet 'starting points' will build beyond current favorite MySpace (and Youtube) alone. Looks like Amazon figured that out and dropped its own attempt at disintermediation. Still, its sad to see innovation cut at the knees.