While it might not have the popularity of Google searches just yet, people-tracker Spock.com has officially launched.
Known as the “search engine for people,” the Redwood City, California-based company offers personal searches to find information on just about anyone. The company (which has no connection to any Vulcans; sorry, Star Trek fans) says over 100 million people are already indexed, with millions added every day.
Spock, Not Stalk
The website neatly compiles the varied shreds of personal information that float freely online, taking social networking to a new and organized level, while potentially decreasing what little Internet privacy remains. The company gathers data from all available sources, such as MySpace, Facebook, ZoomInfo, and LinkedIn, to display a user’s occupation, date of birth, and other personal details.
While recruiters might find this new resource handy if they need to research a candidate’s background, it is not without hesitation. For example, while a candidate’s index might be updated, it should be noted that any Web surfer can supplement someone’s page by adding information, keywords, and pictures.
Unique Recruiting Touches
Internally, the Silicon Valley company is still growing, looking for a wide range of workers. On its careers site, the company lists four reasons to work at Spock, including free lunches and “tons of snacks”; a “very small” engineering team; giant flat-panel monitors and a new Mac or PC for all engineers; and the potential to “be a part of every Internet user’s daily life.”
To appeal to potential engineering recruits, the site also features “mini-challenges” that showcase typical engineering problems and projects. For example, one challenge tests programmers’ abilities to offer solutions in multiple programming languages, asking candidates to “include all necessary code and installation instructions.” Of course, the company does not forget to remind the programmers to “include a resume, too, if you’d enjoy doing stuff like this for a living.”
According to VentureBeat, the team has plans to generate income by placing ads next to searches, similar to Google’s method.
The company is funded by early-stage venture capital firms Clearstone Venture Partners (backers of Overture and PayPal, among others) and Opus Capital Ventures.