Is The Writing On The Wall For Search?

This chart is from Alexa and shows how much the web has changed in 2 years.  But I think it tells us much, much more than the speed of the Internet.  I highlighted the social media destinations.  We can see a distinctive shift in the last 2 years from e-commerce to social media in terms of content sites.   Also we see that search is no longer dominating the list, although it does take the top spots.

Social networks are becoming increasingly popular…many of which are not indexed by search.  Lot’s and lots of new activity happening on the web that either isn’t showing up or has lost context in Google.  

Alexa Global Internet Traffic Rankings
2005	2007
yahoo.com	yahoo.com
msn.com	google.com
google.com	Live.com
ebay.com	youtube.com
amazon.com	msn.com
microsoft.com	myspace.com
myspace.com	facebook.com
google.co.uk	wikipedia.org
aol.com	hi5.com
go.com	orkut.com

 
I had a conversation with a colleague regarding the emphasis of search.. in this instance it was regarding research of Enterprise 2.0 solutions, which had a strong requirement on “Search”.  I admit finding things on my company’s intranet is tough and a better search function would be cool.  But I wonder if we have already moved beyond that?

Not sure about the rest of you but the best stuff I find on the web comes to me. I do use Google a lot but I use it less and less.  The relevant stuff comes in a Twitter or shows up on my Facebook home page or even is sent to me in email.   Imagine that kind of functionality in the enterprise.  I’d be able to see the latest governance document from Web Marketing, the latest conversation between Privacy, PR and Legal on transparency, or the most recommended video assets from my colleagues.  All that stuff would be at my finger tips and little search needed.

So my question is, are we starting to see the decline and possibly obsolescence of search as we know it?  By establishing better collaboration tools and linking that content with social networks I can tune into what is relevant to me much easier and it clears up a big part of what I would typically used search for.

The NYTimes has picked up on this per political stories, claiming that people are using traditional media less and less to get their info, but instead using social tools to get their news and pass it on.   And for full disclosure I did not search for this post it was shared with me via a comment in company blog post.

Now I can’t say Search is going away…admittedly there is the occasional argument with my wife on how old celebrity actually is.  And then Google on my iPhone comes to the rescue.  Possibly that is overly stated, but I do believe the use of Search as we know it is declining. 

So as I look at this chart and my own behavior I’m seeing an evolution toward a greater dependence on social tools and less dependency on Search.  I postulate that either Search becomes less relevant or Search will change. 

My bet is on the latter.  There’s evidence Google is all over this.  Open Social will give them hooks to content across multiple social networks. Google indeed may be that thread stitching together all content between you and your friends across the web.

Hello world!

Hi all, Bob Duffy here.  Based on the title you will have figured this is a new blog site for me.  I intend to mostly discuss what interests me professionally but in a style that is very personal.  Expect to see posts that examine things I am seeing in social media, sometimes in an irreverent way.

For full disclosure.  I work at Intel managing social media strategies and operations.  I help plan social media marketing programs and absolutely none of this or anything I post on this site is or will be endosed by Intel or part of a marketing program… it is all me.

Probably good to know I rarely think there are 2 sides to an issue.  Obviously there’s my side, but beyond that I tend to think see sides to an issue are more like a polyhedron and I discover each side one at time… often very, very slowly.  This is the way I write, draw & paint, code and over learn and communicate.   Often I express what sides I’m able to see hoping others can add turn a new side into my view. 

So expect I will contradict myself over time, while I adjust my perspective as things come into view.  I hope that is cool, because I have to think if any of us are willing to grow and learn we have to admit that often where we start is not the right place in the end.

If you want to connect with me outside of this site here how to find me.

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