Google Jealous?
Ha!
I’ve been saying it for a while now…
Social media is becoming so important that I can see the day when Web 2.0 might overtake traditional search.
Today, I read an article by Jodan McCollum over at SearchNewz: “Google Doesn’t Care About Social Media?” (3-19-09)
She’s quoting Pali Research analyst Richard Greenfield in this:
“The reason the company — Google — doesn’t care is that the basic functionality of social platforms like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter is diminishing the importance of search. He points to users growing inclination to search for specific information by tapping into friends and colleagues knowledge through platforms like Twitter’s own search product, as well Facebook’s status update tool.”
Ha!
Apparently, I’m not the only one wondering if search will become less relevant over time. I mean, if you want to check out the lunar space station, you wouldn’t go to Facebook, right? (Or maybe it has a Facebook account now, too, I’m not sure)
But if you want to know if a piece of software works, who would you ask? Someone who has used it, or several someones who have used it and get their opinions before you buy, right? Or, where would you go to get contact lenses online? Google will tell you where, but not how good the service is.
Years back, we Netizens just accepted what was served up to us. There was only interaction on Usenet or in IRC (Internet Relay Chat), but only a small segment of the population used those vehicles to communicate with peers. I loved it back in the mid-90′s and was often found in my Usenet home first thing in the morning to check up with friends.
But now EVERYbody is on Facebook or Twitter or MySpace or whatever, and I can communicate with them. I mean, I finally got my 71-year-old sister to sign up for a Facebook account, and she’s no slouch when it comes to computers. She just didn’t see the benefit. Guess what? Her attitude has changed because Facebook is just plain fun.
Although I think Google will still be around for a very long time to come, I also think that Google’s heyday of preaching to us what we can and can’t do online so that we’re its “good graces” will pass. The fact that Google seems to be kicking and screaming and NOT fully entering the social end of Web 2.0 just shows us how scary it is for them to think about.
I think that’s a good thing. Although Google is indeed a great free service and has tons of incredible features, I just think we’ve given the search engine too much power. It’s time that online, we at least get this slogan going again: “Power to the people!”
