Eurekster gets $5.5 million. They must be doing something right, despite losing Friendster to Google

  Eurekster has raised $5.5 million in a round of venture capital funding, suprising many since they've recently lost their biggest client, Friendster, to Google.  The search engine that has dedicated its services to searching communities and social networks has provided value to many, nonetheless, and has become an easy solution for bloggers and niche communities across the board.  When it comes to niche search engines, Eurekster has proven to have staying power. 

Their swiki feature has proven rather popular and useful to those wanting to add a customized search tag cloud to their website or blog.  In terms of the service they provide to communities, it's unique in that they study user behavior in order to provide better search results.  This can be monetized, but not as much as a deal with Google, apparantly.

Eurekster's round of venture capital funding was provided by Technology Venture Partners of Australia and Transcosmos Investments of Japan, as well as additional private investors.  If their loss of Friendster as a client has hindered them in any way, particularly in closing a deal with another larger company, I'm sure their latest round of funding will help them to further their development and put them in a better position in the long run.