Blekko was a web search engine that positioned itself as a curated alternative to Google. It was founded by Rich Skrenta and launched in public beta on November 1, 2010, with a stated goal of filtering out low-quality “content farm” results.[1]
The company’s distinguishing feature was the “slashtag,” a search modifier such as /health or /recipes that limited results to a curated set of sites. IBM acquired Blekko in March 2015 for an undisclosed sum, and the search engine was shut down shortly afterward.[2]
Meaning and Symbolism
The company name was a deliberate, playful misspelling of the word “blecco” (itself a variation on “bleccchh”), an expression of distaste. Co-founder Rich Skrenta explained the name was chosen to sound distinctive; the extra “k” was added because the domain blekko.com was available.[1]
Typography and Design
The Blekko wordmark used all-lowercase lettering. This styling choice was common among early web search startups (Google, Yahoo, and others also used lowercase marks), though the research here does not document a stated design rationale from the company or its designers.[2]
FAQ
What happened to the Blekko logo after IBM acquired the company?
IBM acquired Blekko in March 2015 and shut down the consumer search engine. The research does not document whether IBM retained or retired the Blekko wordmark.[2]
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
