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A spirit that is not afraid

ChaCha Texting Search Service Brings Competition to Google Text and Foy

ChaCha, a new search engine, has danced its way into the competition to rival others like Google text and Foy.

ChaCha (242-242) is a service that users can text with any question, and they will text you back with the answer within one to five minutes, said Brian Nunez, an undeclared sophomore in liberal arts who has worked for ChaCha.

Nunez said users can ask ChaCha anything from movie times to sports scores and that they can answer pretty much any question regardless of the nature.

"If you work for them, you sign in on your computer and questions pop up, you look them up and then type them a message that answers their question," Nunez said.

The major difference between ChaCha and Google text is that ChaCha is answered by a person said Blair Stapp, a senior in graphic design and employee of ChaCha.

"There are fallacies that come along with that, because as humans, we're always making mistakes," Stapp said. "But it's still nice to have that human connection and know that it isn't just a computer giving you an automated response."

Nunez said he agreed that having a human answering questions can still have its drawbacks.

"My biggest complaint about it is that sometimes the answers aren't exactly what you are looking for," Nunez said. "For example, you ask about the score of the Auburn, LSU game because you are missing the game and they tell you the final score of last year's Auburn, LSU game."

It takes as much time as it takes for somebody to Google your question, Nunez said.

"If you ask what time a TV show starts, you should get a quick response," he said. "If you ask how many Oreos it would take to fill Jordan Hare, that might take a little longer."

Colleen McNulty, a senior in human development and family studies, said she has recently been using ChaCha to answer questions for her while she's on the go.

"It's great for people who don't have iPhones and can't access something like a store's phone number or the weather from their phone," McNulty said. "ChaCha makes it easier than having to make a phone call to Information."

ChaCha is available 24 hours a day, according to the company's official Web site.

"You don't have to wait on the line for a long time with ChaCha," Stapp said. "You can just text your question and receive the response."

The Web site also said ChaCha is completely free, but standard text messaging rates apply.

Stapp said ChaCha has begun to evolve in a way that has allowed the homepage, and even text messages users receive, to be cluttered with junk and advertisements.

"It used to be pretty simple, but now users will see more ads and junk on the Web site and at the end of text messages," Stapp said.

The Web site also said that users can text ChaCha to check the weather, stocks and to receive menus, along with much more.

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