Google’s competition is increasing
This businessweek article describes changes in the way people search for, and find information. Companies like Twitter, Facebook, Bing and others are offering different ways for people to find what they are looking for. Google is constantly looking to evolve their search alchorithms and technology to counter their decreasing marketshare.
“As the Web evolves, there’s no guarantee that search, or Google, will remain at its center. Not so long ago, portals such as AOL and Yahoo dominated the Internet as most people’s first stop online. They lost ground as search improved and helped guide people quickly to sites they were looking for. Now Twitter and others are becoming significant drivers of people’s attention to Web sites—Google’s raison d’être. The New York Times (NYT) recently said that some 10% of NYTimes.com’s traffic was sent by Twitter. Some marketers sense in the rapid rise of Twitter and Facebook a new way other than search for people to find information, connect with friends, and get recommendations and ads for products to buy. Twitter’s ability to raise a round of venture money that gives the startup, which has no meaningful revenue yet, a valuation of $1 billion reflects the potential some people see. ”