Wolfram Alpha, the search engine that was born in a wave of hype of hype in 2009, turned 2 years old earlier this month. No, it wasn't the "Google killer" early stories suggested it could be, but it has grown and developed from its early days and it certainly has a place in any serious researcher's toolkit.

When it was finally released in May, 2009, I wrote about it here and was to say the least, not very impressed with what I found. To be fair, however, I don't think I really understood the true strengths. Here's what I had to say:

"Frankly, I found it hard to get any answers out of this search engine at all, no matter what I asked. Maybe I lack the analytical mind that the underlying Mathematica engine requires."

Wolfram Alpha isn't a Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) killer because it's dramatically different from Google, which searches web pages. What Wolfram Alpha does is use some mathematical computations combined with a database of knowledge. It is far more precise than Google so long as it as the information you're looking for is in the database. That's not always the case.

But over the two year period, Wolfram Alpha has expanded that database and has grown it's team to over 200 people. According to an article in Wired, the company has a to-do list that is decades long.

The company certainly made some missteps along the way. Remember the $50 iPhone app? They gave up on that last year dropping the price to $2.

The search tool probably has greater application in places where there is a fixed data set. In fact, the Wired article reports that Wolfram Alpha is finding some success in this area creating applications for groups like network administrators and astronomy classes.

As it turns 2, Wolfram Alpha remains somewhat of an enigma, but as it struggles to find its footing and its place as a search company, it has created a very interesting piece of technology. Its challenge moving forward will be to find ways to harness that technology in ways that are helpful to business.

For more information:
- see the Wired article

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Wolfram Alpha doesn't impress me