I thought iWon was an original approach to search a few years back...but now we have the vanity engine. And who better to kickoff the trend than fledging rap star and tabloid darling, Kevin Federline.
Yes, fresh off the Britney Spears gravy train, K-Fed launched his own search engine las week. (Ya gotta hand it to the guy - he's innovative with his income sources!)
Powered by Yahoo and offered through Prodege (which, I thought was a fundraising tool utilizing search?), Search With Kevin offers prizes for searchers, including CDs, T-shirts and autographed photos.
The editors of MediaPost's Search Insider have vastly different opinions on Kevin's foray into search. Gord Hotchkiss seemed dangerously close to vomiting on his keyboard. David Berkowitz may have actually won an 8x10 of K-Fed.
I have to side with Berkowitz in his overall view of Prodege's offering (which, as Hotchkiss points out, has been used to promote Wynonna Judd, Andrew Dice Clay and Meatloaf) - Let the market decide. If there really is a place for vanity search -- and I'm sure there is -- the fan base will be there.
And frankly, I think the interface on Search With Kevin is really nice -- if you don't mind Kevin Federline's mug topping the SERPs. I may just make it my homepage, if only because I truly enjoy freaking out my co-workers. 
Comments