For those that this applies, better get your links out while you still can, SearchFox indicated by email tonight that they will be shutting down services:

Thanks for all your help in making SearchFox what it is. We have enjoyed providing this service, and hope that you have enjoyed using it. Please export all of your links and an OPML file with your RSS sources before the site shuts down. In accordance with our privacy policy, we will delete all personal information on January 25 after we shut down the services.

Wonder how many of these web pooh point … oh services will bite the dust in 2006? How many will never even leave ‘beta’? Here’s my prediction: 75% of them will be gone within the next 12 - 18 months with another 20% of them in the ensuing 18-36 months. At least 40% of them will be gone by year end or whenever their funding runs dry, whichever is first.

At the end of 4 years maybe 1 or 2 in 100 will still be running. There just isn’t very much in the way of business plans in a lot of the stuff I’ve seen and if that doesn’t ring the death bell for any business I don’t know what does. Yes, there are exceptions and a few of them have already found their ways to bigger and brighter homes.

Update 1/19/2006 1:32am PST: TechCrunch reports that their reliable sources tell them Yahoo has acquired Searchfox Assets.

Did this post make you go hmm?

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