Is Google getting older or just dying (updated) October 18, 2010

(Ed Update - Google gave a collective middle finger to me and anyone else who questions them.  )

The more I think about I wonder what is happening to Google and if the Google we knew 5 years ago will be the same Google we will know in 5 years.   In 2005 Google was a young company with a fresh IPO and the world was its oyster.    But something has changed over the last year…. how we access information.  Little by little people are abandoning their laptops and accessing their smartphones.  Google’s homepage is no longer the nexus of everyone’s online experience.

But that might not be Google’s biggest problem.  Wall Street not only expects revenue but they also expect new revenue and Google still hasn’t found that new stream yet.  But they are trying…

Google Android, number two worldwide in 2010

Google Music Coming Soon

Google TV set for fall 2010 launch

With all that said what will Google be in 2015, 2020, or 2025?  Will they still be the search giant we know today or will we they be a multi-billion dollar media conglomerate such as AT&T, Time Warner, or News Corp?  Or will Google become the next internet AOL, the golden child of the 1990s.

Out with the old and in with the new… October 6, 2010

Two announcements were made this week which I think are not getting the proper exposure.  The first announcement centers around Google TV and I know what you’re thinking, “everybody has heard about the new Google TV landing page.”  While every talked about the applications and providers who are partnering with Google, not many people have been talking about the real news.

The new web page.

Google understands that the success of Google TV will not be which content providers they partner with, but how well the user engagement is recieved.  If you are just going to take the standard webpage built for an 18 inch screen and throw it on my 50 inch HDTV then we have a problem.  That is why the most important announcement from Google TV is that CNN, New York Times amongst others will be developing “TV Websites.”

That brings me to the second announcement that has flown under the radar.  AOL will be launching Project Devil, a new website format that focuses on the content, not the advertising.  Based on this new format AOL and its partners will feature web pages that have one advertiser per page with interactive promotional material that won’t force the user to leave his/her current page.  For consumers navigating the web, the one-per-page units remove the clutter of multiple ads.

Both these announcements are long over due.  With the growth of mobile/social applications current webpage look cluttered and lost. Publishers want to fit as much media space as possible to maximize revenue and marketers have been asking for better content.  In my opionion marketers are willing to pay a premium for integrating the right message with the right content.  While these are not new ideas, these are new execution strategies.

Hopefully these initiatives are the beginning of something beautiful.

Is Google getting older or just dying September 20, 2010

(Ed Update – Google gave a collective middle finger to me and anyone else who questions them.  )

The more I think about I wonder what is happening to Google and if the Google we knew 5 years ago will be the same Google we will know in 5 years.   In 2005 Google was a young company with a fresh IPO and the world was its oyster.    But something has changed over the last year…. how we access information.  Little by little people are abandoning their laptops and accessing their smartphones.  Google’s homepage is no longer the nexus of everyone’s online experience.

But that might not be Google’s biggest problem.  Wall Street not only expects revenue but they also expect new revenue and Google still hasn’t found that new stream yet.  But they are trying…

Google Android, number two worldwide in 2010

Google Music Coming Soon

Google TV set for fall 2010 launch

With all that said what will Google be in 2015, 2020, or 2025?  Will they still be the search giant we know today or will we they be a multi-billion dollar media conglomerate such as AT&T, Time Warner, or News Corp?  Or will Google become the next internet AOL, the golden child of the 1990s.