What Would Google Do? Google’s Next Move
I’ve been researching a lot about the real time web, brainstorming about the endless possibilities (more on that later), and re-reviewing a number of sites (Twine and Streamy to name a few). The space is certainly hot.
There has been a lot of talk about Google and how they are quickly falling behind to Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed, Twine, etc. Google has admitted they are behind and the question is, what will they do next?
Robert Scoble has an interesting post that hints about a few exciting changes coming soon, most likely to be announced at their upcoming developer conference on May 27-28. He also has a nice comparison to Microsoft’s great change in the 90s.
Search is the issue. Google’s core product – search – may be at risk.
Their cash cow is now being challenged by a number of startups. It’s funny how Microsoft’s cash cow – Windows – is being challenged by Google (Google Docs), Zoho, and a few others. But Google Docs itself grew out of a small startup – Writely. Google – like many others – noticed a shift was happening and purchased a hot web based word processing company. It was a great move, and I must admit, I frequently use Google Docs.
So, what will Google Do? It’s rare that a company can come late and launch a product that can compete. The momentum it’s up against is to great – swimming against the stream. But what if you are a huge company like Goolge? Their two most recent “me too” products are slowing gaining traction, but they are still far behind. Android will have a tough time against the iPhone, and OpenSocial will have a hard time against the Facebook platform. A third, Friend Connect is battling with Facebook Connect (although they were launched around the same time).
My guess is Google will acquire a company to compete directly with Facebook or Twitter. Maybe even acquire Twitter, but that would be costly. But what will in cost in a year or two? Will the price escalate to 5x the current value?
Can Google compete or – as many have predicted – is it to late? The next 6-12 months will be very interesting.
