All posts tagged TechCrunch
Google+ Arrives
source: www.TheSocialMarketingDiva.com
Feeling a little left out because you haven?t received your invitation to Google+? Don?t worry, that?s the point. After struggling through three previous incarnations, the New and Improved Google Social Network, awkwardly named Google+ is officially open for business. This is not to be confused with ?Google +1? which was released a few months back, and was ostensibly an opening salvo in their newly heightened battle with Facebook over social media supremacy. That was merely the Google version of Facebook?s ?Like? system. With their unveiling of Google+, the search giant is now ironically acting as giant-killer in launching their own full-fledged answer to Facebook?s social media juggernaut.
So you haven?t gotten your invite yet, but the artificial scarcity that Google is engineering here (perhaps taking a page from the Steve Jobs handbook) is to engender a grassroots, viral campaign feeling to their roll-out. You’re probably a bit more inclined to join if invited by your best friends than by having it forced down your throat every time you log into your Gmail. It?s savvy marketing, and by all accounts, the buzz seems to be positive (no pun intended – Google would rather forget that little misadventure). Tech Crunch, Gizmodo, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and a slew of other respected publications and blogs have given it high marks, some with the caveat that it may be a little late in the game to be taking on Mr. Zuckerberg.
But for all intents and purposes, Google+ seems to strive to be the anti-Facebook on one fundamental level – that the world of online socializing is taking on a more grown-up approach. What they seem to be betting on is the long-held, and valid concern that Facebook is too social. When you make an announcement, post a video, ?like? something or interact in any way, it?s broadcast to all of your ?friends.? And let?s be honest, how many of those people are your friends? Granted, Facebook has grudgingly made adjustments to this problem through “Groups” and the like, but Google+ has made it easier, more streamlined, and by some accounts, somewhat fun to group your acquaintances into corresponding groups that are privy only to the info that you deem worthy for that particular “Circle”. While some have lamented this approach (some commenters say they like this aspect and how it differs from real-world interaction), as social networks evolve into becoming an integral part of ?real-world interaction? people of legal drinking age require a more nuanced approach.
Either way, if it reaches some modicum of success, Google+ will be a welcome alternative for many disenchanted current and former Facebook members. But we?ll see – after all, it?s not a success or a social network at all unless people are using it.
The Search Wars
Last month saw what seemed to be a significant milestone in the battle for search market share as Bing broke the 30% mark by powering 30.01% of U.S. searches with 14.32% coming from Bing.com and 15.69% coming from Bing-powered Yahoo Search. Google saw its lead decline from 66.69% to 64.42% in just the month of March alone. These numbers, provided by Hitwise seem to indicate that there could finally be a trend towards Google actually having search competition in the near future.
The numbers are essentially the same for Yahoo as they were back in 2005 when Microsoft muscled its way into the search market by launching Bing. However, what may give Google some pause is the fact that Google has seen an overall decline of roughly 10% of market share since the two merged services back in August 2010, a period of only 6 months. While it?s highly unlikely that we?ll see some dramatic sea change in competition within the next year, it hasn?t stopped some from predicting rather outrageous outcomes. Courtesy of Mashable.com, case-in-point:
So by this logic, Google would be overtaken by early next year, which to put it kindly, is bunk. While Bing has made inroads, the merger with Yahoo has ben anything but seamless. News from today puts some of the starry-eyed projections into perspective. From TechCrunch, Yahoo’s search revenue shortfall for early this year continues, and now Microsoft and Yahoo are passing the blame. The numbers don’t look good:
This is the data since Microsoft took over Yahoo?s U.S. search advertising in return for 12% of Yahoo’s search revenues, with the red line indicating Yahoo’s revenue taking the 12% into account. So even though the merger seems to indicate some increase in market share over the last two quarters, the ad revenue has declined substantially. While Bing and Yahoo may claim that adding the human element makes their paid ad relevancy for search terms better, the data seems to indicate that Google’s algorithm (i.e. Quality Score) is still the best method for getting people to click on an ad, and thereby generate revenue. Perhaps any qualms Yahoo had about AdCenter’s performance versus AdWords back when they chose which company to outsource search to was eased by the magic word “scale”. So far, it appears that the “scale” promised by Microsoft hasn’t made up for lesser platform quality.
