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I mean, Google is big and it has that advantage like any big enterprise, but the search engine market is very permeable compared to what people traditionally re
by gomox 5y ago
I mean, Google is big and it has that advantage like any big enterprise, but the search engine market is very permeable compared to what people traditionally refer to as a moat (say, trying to compete with YouTube as a video hosting platform or with Salesforce as a CRM).
If you have a good search engine, people will flock to it, and search ads will be valuable. That's it. That's how Google became Google.
The fact that Microsoft couldn't do it honestly doesn't mean much. Microsoft also couldn't do a phone OS, a portable music player, and many other things. They have a complex web of conflicting interests that $SEARCH_ENGINE_STARTUP does not.
- dredmorbius 5y agoJust for the record, I'm in at least mild agreement that search is looking increasingly vulnerable. Google are falling down here. It's just that "search" is really a web of interrelated services, capabilities, and revenue streams, and they tend to reinforce each other strongly. I'd like to see the monopoly disrupted.[1] But I don't think it's just a matter of "build a better mousetrap^Wsearch engine." Attack one corner, and Google will snipe at you from the others. And with the AdWords cash cow, they've got an immense revenue stream. ________________________________ Notes: 1. Well, mostly. Google's acquired so goddamned much personal data that the premise is frankly kind of terrifying as well --- a weakened Google with neither the revenues nor talent to defend that pile.... And I'd really like to see the toppling occur without simply raising a new monopoly in its place.