Why Google Could Disappear in Five Years

The rise of mobile will lead consumers to want to search in new ways

[TypicalSurfer]

The shift from desktop to mobile may not bode well for google.

Google may be on its way out as the dominant player in search, according to one analyst — and could even "disappear" in as little as five to eight years if the competitive pressures that ultimately claimed other search giants start to take root.

and

"The question is, is that move going to degrade the service, is that sort of the tip of the iceberg?" he said. "And are we going to start to see paid search results in other areas of Google and is that going to degrade the experience?"

[cnbc.com...]

Will googles advertising overlay on web search make web search useless for users?

[londrum]

i dont know why people think mobiles are going to one day take over from desktop computers and laptops and tablets. people cant do their work on mobiles, and they're not really the best tool for browsing and buying stuff either. (would you research and book a holiday on a mobile, for example?).

[superclown2]

People use mobiles to search for small local things, restaurants, gas stations, flower sellers, that sort of thing. Proper e-commerce products and services are searched for on laptops and desktops because we want to compare offers, read reviews and check on websites in depth to find out the advantages and disadvantages of what we are going to buy.

Maybe Google will vanish in 5 years but it will be falling prices for clicks, their own skills at severely hacking off the people they do business with, government action to curb their abuses or maybe buying too many companies that they cannot run successfully that does for them.

[MrSavage]

I didn't read the link. I think the thought is absurd on the surface. Didn't the FTC say that Google had 95% or higher of the mobile search market? You think with their Android OS that they have any concerns about missing the boat on this one? Google is embedded enough to ensure survival in any future situation.

That said, if the public turns on them, the whole thing goes down. A total collapse, not just a partial collapse.

[matrix_jan]

Unlike Facebook, Google has no problem monetizing mobile traffic.

I suggest you read this too: [forbes.com...]

[Larry] Page noted that there’s about half a billion Android devices in use around the world today, and, most importantly, that mobile revenues have now topped $8 billion. Interestingly, Page believes that Google is better positioned to monetize mobile than desktop devices. Facebook, for example, has faced intense investor scrutiny regarding their mobile strategy, which has taken its toll on the stock price.

[mrguy]

Unlike Facebook, Google has no problem monetizing mobile traffic.

I have my favorite music videos favorited in youtube for when I'm doing cardio at the gym. It used to be that during a 25 minute session, I was only exposed to 1 ad which was ok with me.

Now, no less than 3 ads appear during that 25 minutes.
I'm going to sign up for vevo premium so I don't have to put up with the ads.

I swear Google is doing their best to make me hate them even more than I already do.

[lucy24]

What does web search have to do with mobiles? You run the free-standing google app instead.

:: wandering off to google 'mene mene tekel upharsin' ::