Ecocho
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
Some sections are still being researched2 / 4
Sections to complete：02 · 05
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Ecocho was an Australian search engine launched on April 14, 2008, owned by the Found Agency, a search engine optimization company. It marketed itself as the first 'green' search engine: it aimed to donate 70% of its advertising revenue to carbon offset credits, claiming that every 1,000 searches would sponsor up to two trees or offset one ton of CO2, and it kept a public tally of trees planted and kilograms of CO2 offset. The search was initially powered by Google, then by Yahoo after Google terminated Ecocho's access.
02 / FAILURE REASONS
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Launched
Ecocho launched on April 14, 2008 as a 'green' search engine pledging 70% of revenue to carbon offsets.
- Google termination
On April 22, 2008, just eight days after launch, Google denied Ecocho the use of its search technologies over repeated policy violations by its owner, the Found Agency; Ecocho switched to Yahoo-powered search.
- Closed
The site wound down and closed in or before 2012, after a brief UK revival under ecocho.co.uk in 2009.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN / AFTERMATH
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