Poising queries to our online social networks is nothing new. When we need a restaurant recommendation or an opinion about a drainage pipe, we turn to those we know and deem more trustworthy than a soulless machine for their opinions.
The core of social media, and it’s true power, lies in its ability to bring us all together. Our voices are amplified to those who want to hear us speak. We’re more connected, more collaborative and more useful as citizens in an ever-shrinking world.
Search companies like Google are advancing the way their technologies approach the semantic web. While the concept isn’t new, innovations in the way we compile this information will allow the user to one day more quickly find useful and trusted answers to their stupid questions.
In a recent Apple Town Hall company meeting, Steve Jobs reportedly lashed out at Google for its aggressive competitive behavior in the past year. An article today in Mashable quoted some of his alleged statements:
When it comes to Google, Jobs is mad at them for trying to “kill the iPhone.” “We did not enter the search business,” he said. “They entered the phone business. Make no mistake: they want to kill the iPhone. We won’t let them.” Finally, his most interesting quote is about Google’s “don’t be evil” mantra. According to Daring Fireball, Jobs simply said: “It’s a load of crap.”
For the past year, Google’s Android handsets have been the iPhone’s greatest threat, with the word “threat” being a matter of perspective. But a threat is still a threat, and while the rivalry is nothing new, it’s certainly growing. A recent article in BusinessWeek points to the rising tensions between the two giants:
Now the companies have entered a new, more adversarial phase. With Nexus One, Google, which had been content to power multiple phonemakers’ devices with Android, enters the hardware game, becoming a direct threat to the iPhone. With its Quattro purchase, Apple aims to create completely new kinds of mobile ads, say three sources familiar with Apple’s thinking. The goal isn’t so much to compete with Google in search as to make search on mobile phones obsolete. “Apple and Google both want more,” says Chris Cunningham, founder of the New York mobile advertising firm Appssavvy. “They’re gearing up for the ultimate fight.”
While Apple succeeds in creating nifty hardware, Google holds strong domination over the information segment. How strong? Apparently strong enough to bring the fat exec and Justin Long together, as word on the Segway states that Bing may oust Google as the default search engine on the iPad. Alexander Vaughn, a blogger for AppAdvice, commented on this news:
If BusinessWeek is right on this one, we might be witnessing soon the next stage of the “Apple vs Microsoft” to “Apple vs Google” paradigm shift. Indeed, according to people “familiar with the matter who asked not to be named” (classical), Apple would be in talks with Microsoft to replace Google by Bing as the iPhone’s default search engine. It’s rumored not to be exclusive and users would still have the possibility to select Google if it suits them more. On the other hand we all know that users tend to usually stick with what they get. It would make sense, in the mobile market at least, Apple’s real rival is Google and its Android, not really Microsoft. Furthermore Apple hasn’t been reluctant to collaborate with Microsoft in the past, think of the iPhone’s Exchange support. While I don’t think we should get concerned that our iPhone will get stripped of Youtube or Gmail any time soon, the Apple-Google battle is definitely heating up.
