There is increasing discussion about how real-time Web 2.0 services like Twitter and Facebook could actually threaten search giant Google. How can that be? Well, imagine Google is like a library with lots of archived deep content (the Then Web) but the real-time web (the Now Web) is more like hanging out at a café and discussing what’s going on today.
So if you are looking for a review of the movie that just came out, or what people are saying about the latest single from some band, or even what people are saying about a webhosting provider today – which search would you use? Many people are switching over to Twitter for real-time information. And recently, Twitter redesigned their home page with a search box front and center.
Personally, I don’t rely on Twitter for my search but I do supplement my search engine searches with Twitter search – and more people are starting to do this. Even Google co-founder, Larry Page, has admitted that Google is losing out in the battle to provide real-time information. We are even starting to get our news from the real-time web.
But doesn’t Google update their index all the time? Yes, but there is a time lag as highlighted recently by Bing.
There is a battle brewing for participating in and being relevant in the emerging real-time web and conversational search. Of course, the giant search engines have the resoruces and can get a piece of the action by acquisition, investment, indexing real-time posts, or launching their own real-time web service.
We’ll see how this all plays out.
Takeshi Eto
VP Marketing and Business Development
DiscountASP.NET