Until earlier this year, Google (< http://www.google.com/ >) had almost total
market dominance of the "organic" search engine space. (The term "organic" has
emerged recently as a buzzword to distinguish "objectively" determined search
results from search results that are bought and paid for by sponsors.) However,
when Yahoo! (< http://www.yahoo.com/ >) decided to end its alliance with Google,
I noticed an immediate change in my referral logs and the referral logs of all
of my clients. To wit, Yahoo! Search (< http://search.yahoo.com/ >) is now on
an equal footing with Google in terms of organic search engine referrals.

The story doesn't end with Yahoo! Search. As pointed out by numerous analysts,
it is relatively easy for a startup to enter the search engine space, and
Google's branding is not likely to survive the challenge of the many search
engine startups that can deliver appreciably different, high quality search
results to their end users, not to mention the more established companies in the
search engine space, such as Ask Jeeves (< http://www.ask.com/ >) and LookSmart
(< http://search.looksmart.com/ >), or the cutthroat competiton of Microsoft's
MSN Search (< http://search.msn.com/ >) that has been on the horizon ever since
Overture (< http://www.overture.com/ >) proved that search engines can be a
profitable vehicle for online advertising.

A few months ago, world renowned search engine commentator Danny Sullivan
predicted that the search engine space will eventually end up being as diverse
as cable television. (See <
http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3347181 > "Search Wars:
Battle of the Superpowers," April 29, 2004.) What is much more likely is that
"meta search" will once again emerge as a popular gimmick. And in the final
analysis, great deference will be given to "expert" infomediaries.

The original appeal of Google was that it purported to give higher quality
search results by deferring to the authority of link popularity. However, in a
post-Google Internet, "organic" search results will be heavily influenced across
the board by specific individuals with way too much time on their hands, as is
now the case with A-list bloggers. (See <
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/xodp/message/2259 > "Blogs - Quietly Moving from
Noise to Signal.") In other words, as far as search engines are concerned, what
is noteworthy or newsworthy will be determined by the lowest common denominator.

In a post-Google Internet, the truth will still be out there, and everyone will
know where to look for it, but few people will care. Then, as now, great
emphasis will be placed on sensational news items, and few people will take the
time to focus on issues and topics that would make the world a better place to
live if said issues and topics were better understood. Then, as now, people
will defer to the anonymous authority of the crowd when setting their indexing
and search priorities rather than thinking for themselves. Even so, then, as
now, there will be a handful of intellectual stalwarts who will offer the
Internet's equivalent of The MacNeil-Lehrer News Hour (aka The News Hour with
Jim Lehrer).

Humbly Yours,

XODP Moderator netesq