redzone - 1:37 pm on Sep 20, 2005 (gmt 0)

Trillian,

AOL is not "search world", it's "Portal World/ISP World", a place that Google has never ventured. It's controlling entry point to the web, something that G needs terribly.

Previous search technologies that were at the top of the heap in their heyday (AV/Inktomi), but didn't have a portal that controlled a strong entry point to the web, died.......

One of the reasons that Yahoo rebirthed itself stronger than ever in late 2002, was their partnership w/ SBC, and the co-branding that has ensued in the US market.

MSN countered with heavy branding of their ISP services, and AOL began to flounder.

I think AOL has come back over the past few months with a solid marketing campaign in the US.

But with the major 5-10 players, also including Eathlink, the cable broadband players, Google better get off their duff, and make a move into the Portal/ISP space.

Cool is cool, but word of mouth is only going to take you so far in life.... Ask Inktomi and AV...