Breaking the Google habit
But why is Google the search leader?Tim O'Reilly points to Google PageRank as the "Google's breakthrough in search" that "quickly made it the undisputed search market leader."Maybe, but consumers don't think that way.My parents' use of Google actually has little to nothing to do with the quality of the search.I'm not sure any of ours does, ultimately.I've spent the last two days tinkering with searches on Microsoft Live Search, Google, and Yahoo, and on a pure quality basis it's hard to tell the three apart.I'm sure some objective science could be made of Google's superiority, but that's not how people search.If you're looking for "table salt" on Google, how do you know that the results returned are better than those on Yahoo?Answer: you don't.In fact, the times that I can't find something with a search engine have much more to do with the quality of my search terms than with the quality of the algorithms informing the search, and no search engine really helps much with prodding quality search terms.How could they?Ultimately, then, I think we use Google out of habit, not superior search.For most of us, it's the search engine to which our trusted computer adviser pointed us, and we've never looked back.Why would we?Because we don't have any way of independently verifying that a competitor would give us better search results, there really is no justification for switching.So, Google is a habit.But it's not one that Google is willing to lackadaisically take for granted.Instead, it is building all sorts of ancillary value (Gmail, Picasa, etc.) which by themselves provide little add-on revenue opportunity but ensure that when we search, we never have reason to look beyond Google, its cash cow.All of which means that much as Google has learned from the disruptive Web, it has perhaps learned more from the desktop.Microsoft, king of the desktop, makes comparatively little from its businesses outside of Windows and Office, but all the add-on value ensures that the vast majority keep feeding its cash cows to the tune of billions in profits every quarter.Microsoft is a habit, too.People could fairly easily switch to Linux and OpenOffice, but they don't.The bother of change doesn't outweigh the ease of habit.The only way to displace Google in search may well be to follow Apple's approach to displacing Microsoft on the desktop: change the game.Apple turned the desktop business into a creative/entertainment pursuit, blending the desktop (iLife suite of products, plus extensions of the desktop like the iPhone and iPod) with the cloud (iTunes, App Store).Apple has a long way to go, but it's taking market share from Microsoft at a respectable clip.In other words, for competitors looking to kick the Google search habit, you can't take the Cuil route and compete on search.It just won't matter if you're better.You need to create a different, compelling habit.
The 404 408- Where we sweat while Libe Goad is here doing nothing
The 404 408: Where we sweat while Libe Goad is here doing nothing
Libe helps us kick off the show with a chat about the new PS3 Slim. After yesterday's unboxing, we've all determined that you'd have to be a fool to upgrade from the PS3 Fat (that can't be the official name), but there are a few games to look for on the console, like Wet, starring Eliza Dushku as Rubi Malone, a "lethal heroine who will take any job as she likes it and the price is right." Other games of interest include Wolfenstein and Batman: Arkham Asylum.All this game talk leads us to a study that reveals the average gamer is 35, fat, and bummed. As a nongamer, I see absolutely nothing fallacious here, but Jeff and Libe have to disagree, and they make a good point. First, the CDC only surveyed 552 subjects in the Seattle-Tacoma area. 552 is a pretty small sample size to determine the "bummertude" of this group, and I'm sure it doesn't help that Seattle rains 226 days a year, these poor gamers are literally being forced to stay in their houses, can we blame them for actually being fat and bummed? We'll get to the bottom of this...We also talk briefly about the 12 most annoying types of Facebookers, like the Let-Me-Tell-You-Every-Detail-Of-My-Day guy (aka Twitter feeders), or the Town Criers who feel the need to broadcast every headline they see on TMZ. Unfortunately, I think all of us are guilty of being The Self-Promoter, but who isn't? Everything you post on Facebook is a form of self-promotion, isn't that why people join social networks in the first place?Per usual, we always need Calls From the Public, so if you have something to say feel free to give us a call at 1-866-404-CNET or shoot us a line at the404(at)CNET{dot}com! EPISODE 408PodcastYour browser does not support the audio element. Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) |Subscribe in RSS Audio |Subscribe in RSS Video This content is rated TV-MA, and is for viewers 18 years or older. Are you of age?YesNoSorry, you are not old enough to view this content.PlayFollow us on Twitter!The 404Jeff BakalarJustin YuWilson TangAdd us on Facebook!The 404 Fan PageThe 404 GroupJustin YuJeff BakalarWilson Tang
Libe helps us kick off the show with a chat about the new PS3 Slim. After yesterday's unboxing, we've all determined that you'd have to be a fool to upgrade from the PS3 Fat (that can't be the official name), but there are a few games to look for on the console, like Wet, starring Eliza Dushku as Rubi Malone, a "lethal heroine who will take any job as she likes it and the price is right." Other games of interest include Wolfenstein and Batman: Arkham Asylum.All this game talk leads us to a study that reveals the average gamer is 35, fat, and bummed. As a nongamer, I see absolutely nothing fallacious here, but Jeff and Libe have to disagree, and they make a good point. First, the CDC only surveyed 552 subjects in the Seattle-Tacoma area. 552 is a pretty small sample size to determine the "bummertude" of this group, and I'm sure it doesn't help that Seattle rains 226 days a year, these poor gamers are literally being forced to stay in their houses, can we blame them for actually being fat and bummed? We'll get to the bottom of this...We also talk briefly about the 12 most annoying types of Facebookers, like the Let-Me-Tell-You-Every-Detail-Of-My-Day guy (aka Twitter feeders), or the Town Criers who feel the need to broadcast every headline they see on TMZ. Unfortunately, I think all of us are guilty of being The Self-Promoter, but who isn't? Everything you post on Facebook is a form of self-promotion, isn't that why people join social networks in the first place?Per usual, we always need Calls From the Public, so if you have something to say feel free to give us a call at 1-866-404-CNET or shoot us a line at the404(at)CNET{dot}com! EPISODE 408PodcastYour browser does not support the audio element. Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) |Subscribe in RSS Audio |Subscribe in RSS Video This content is rated TV-MA, and is for viewers 18 years or older. Are you of age?YesNoSorry, you are not old enough to view this content.PlayFollow us on Twitter!The 404Jeff BakalarJustin YuWilson TangAdd us on Facebook!The 404 Fan PageThe 404 GroupJustin YuJeff BakalarWilson Tang
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