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Not much people here like m--soft I think because they did one thing, the dominate the market. Else why 'go to hell' search will reach microsoft.com from google? :) It looks very clear now that google will dominate the search engine world too! They even expand their search to news group, images search, and now froggle - a shopping center. If Google success on all this, they will become another Microsoft where most people are dependant of them. Internet = Google and Google = internet. Just like PC software = microsoft and microsoft = PC software. Dominating isn't good, we have had a lesson from m--soft.
I am happy to see google rise. But I hope other search engine will too. Rise alltheweb, rise Teoma! but rise no Yahoo. hehe.
MS has a business which is widely diversified, it has numerous products which keeps its operating system at the forefront. It is not the OS that sustains its products, but the otherway around. How many corporate entities will drop MS Office and suffer the pains of retraining and converting? MS had done a great corporate job of leashing its customers to its products, and as a bonus keeps it OS in a difficult to damage position. Capture the corporate sector and the personal sector falls into place....simply a great strategy!
Google in my opinion is very vunerable. It currently dominates the SE world only because others have allowed that to happen. Y's purchase of Ink may well change some of that...time will tell.
Does Google produce better search results....probably yes, but that is not what most "users" look at. SEO's have an ability to determine quality of search results better than the average person, the average person looks at many other factors when selecting a search engine.
For example:
1. Is it clean and simple to use?
2. Did it find sites largely relevant to my search?
3. Is it fast?
4. Do I get bombarded with ads and confusing material?
etc,etc.
Look at the AV new version. Anyone think they took into account any of these factors? I believe Google's success is more to do with the fact that it provides all 4 of the above than number 2 alone. Replicating 1,3,4 is not that difficult to do and relying on number 2 to stay ahead probably won't work!
Is a clean Inktomi search really any worse that a Google search? In my opinion NO! The problem is the only real place people see Inktomi results is MSN and they are polluted by Overture and Looksmart, one assumes for short term MSN revenue purposes.
I personally believe MS could take the SE market anytime it wanted, through aquisitions, technology, usability and industry trust. MS currently seems to be balancing profit against market dominance in the SE arena, not sure why...everywhere else it seems to play for dominance on the basis profit will follow!
My conclusion is that MS sees timing as important. While the market is being generated it maybe more profitable to allow others to pay to generate the market. Once the market is mature MS may think it can move in big time and mop up!
Use Netscape as an analogy. MS stayed back for a while until it became obvious the market had been generated....then it moved.
I appreciate most people in this forum think SE's are old hat and the market is already here.....but in the larger picture is this really accurate? I have seen SE growth referral at a 60% increase over last year and the site positions haven't changed much. This tells me the use of SE's is still rapidely growing and the marketplace is still "under construction".
When you have the power of MS it maybe better to let others pay for the construction and make your move at the right time......just a thought;)
Ten year prediction.....MS controls the SE market and the Internet to a large degree. The old timers will be saying "anyone remember Google?"....of course right now Google free referrals may be paying your mortgage and hope is a primary factor in keeping the status quo.
No doubt about it Google is the current King and should be "milked for every pint or litre". But long term I believe MS will prevail, and probably in a form no one can imagine or predict:)
I appreciate most people in this forum think SE's are old hat and the market is already here.....but in the larger picture is this really accurate? I have seen SE growth referral at a 60% increase over last year and the site positions haven't changed much. This tells me the use of SE's is still rapidely growing and the marketplace is still "under construction".
I agree wholeheartedly that the SE market is only just barely coming of age.
I think it's less an issue of search figures, and more a matter of positve cashflow strategies. The last 24 months have seen the dramatic and inevitable Forward March For Monetization. We're seeing the refinement of Pay Per Click, Pay For Inclusion, Pay For Review, and Corporate Licensing as an effective means for providing cashflow far beyond the old CPM advertising model.
I also agree that as these business models get perfected, MS could very well decide to dive in and dominate this market as they have in so many others.
As for Google going the way of MS? Never happen unless an an entirely different crew winds up at the helm. Their corporate culture is entirely different than Microsoft's. While I expect Google to expand their services dramatically, I am quite confident that they will remain distinctly, undeniably, and irrefutably.... ummm... Googley? Googlish? Googlesque?
Let's just say I forsee them remaining very very Google. ;)
Not much people here like m--soft I think because they did one thing, the dominate the market
Microsoft may own the markets for personal-computer operating systems and office suites, but they certainly don't dominate many of the other markets they compete in--e.g., search, servers, Internet access, or Web portals.
Similarly, if Google were to "become Microsoft one day," it might dominate the market for spidered search, but that wouldn't mean it would dominate the markets for PPC or PFI search, directories, or Web portals.
Google is very good at spidered search, but it hasn't shown any signs of expertise (or clout) in other markets.
