Forum Moderators: mack
"Speaking to a packed auditorium at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., on May 12, Ballmer trumpeted the ripe opportunities around Microsoft's sprawling business and questioned the ability of Google to maintain its edge. Clearly alluding to Microsoft's key Internet search rival, Ballmer said: "The hottest company right now -- the one nobody thinks can do any wrong -- may just be a one-hit wonder."
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Personally I think G needs to diversify it's revenue source. Right now everything is going great, but if the economy starts to slow, the first thing companies do is cut advertising (and business travel). It happened a few years ago and it will happen again...leaving Google exposed.
1) Google will be dethroned not by a yahoo or msn, but someone like Google.
2) The search for info will move from desktops to mobile devices.
3) There is lot more information outside the web.
4) Domain specific search may gain ground,e.g., search specifically for doctors
5) I dont think Google will ever build any OS but will join forces with a major player just like they support Firefox.
6) Google never solves existing problems or make existing things better, but they build products which will tackle problems that may arise in future. (Read Eric Schmidt say it somewhere)
7) Google will always be the number one as long as it maintain its focus on building a community and keeping it happy. All its product involve community participation in some form or the other.
8) There are always different ways to show ads.
The majority of the people go to the search engine that they believe to be credible and "the best one." Both subjective reasons are very suceptible to manipulation.
Most people couldn't tell you what a good search engine is from a bad one. People like you are the one's that say. If Microsoft wants to woo you over, then they will have to do it with something really pizzazzy. And if they do, then you will all fall for them and abandon Google in a heart beat. (If it is really cool and techie) And when others see and hear what the experts are doing, they will do it too. And that will be the end.
For those people that can tell the difference between search engines, it is apparent that MSN is inadequate.
Google's Operating System will be a next-generation operating system. They're not just going to copy existing OSs. If they do create one, it will be an Internet based thin client OS like nothing we've seen before.
I wonder if it will be as popular on the average user's desktop as Linux is.
6) Google never solves existing problems or make existing things better, but they build products which will tackle problems that may arise in future. (Read Eric Schmidt say it somewhere)
What?
Name one product they invented that tackled a problem that existed in the then-future. Everything they've done has been done by someone else. All they've done is brought existing products to a mass audience.
currently G has the lions share and the mindset , when M does release Longhorn and continue improvements in serps they will take a share from G but still leave G with a large enough user support base to survive and prosper
G will only lose this game if they shoot themselves in the foot due to trying to be to clever and should remember that some of the very webmasters that helped them grow to who they are today ( by spreading the word ) are still around and have the same strength and power to change the mindset of many searchers.
Many new webmasters have found adsense can provide an income that was not available before G provided but G has shown to many what G can give G can take away via kicking out webmasters , Serp changes often affecting innocent as well as the target spammers , and smartpricing.
If M combines greater openess of percentages on an adsense alternative many webmasters will jump ship and possibly while doing so will influence many searchers
G will not die and will continue as a large internet player but not with it's current dominence
just my ramblings
steve
it owns no worthwhile intellectual copyright since it's search technology is only valuable till someone discovers something better. altavista anyone?
yet..
it is valued at $10000000000000000000000000 (roughly)
why?..
because we the investing public are all into hype. fickle beings that we are.
google is worth 25 times annual revenue. that is unheard of on the stock market and would only be justified if google had a foolproof plan to double profits every year for the next 25 years.
google is a disaster waiting to happen. what goes up fast comes down just as fast.
As for who takes out Google, I think Yahoo! has a good shot now. They are much more innovative of late than Google, and Google seems to be copying much of what Yahoo! is doing.
