It used to be that Apple vs Microsoft was the big battle of the technological giants. However, more recently it can be seen that these once enemies have teamed up against a perceived larger threat – that of search engine marketing leader Google.
Friends instead of foes, Apple and Microsoft have joined forces to replace old stalwart Google with Bing as the iPhones default search provider in the wake of Google creating a iPhone rivalling smartphone.
In contrast, a friendly relationship can turn sour – recall Google and Facebook’s alliance a few years ago… In 2010, such a dalliance seems like a distant memory as Google and Facebook have become ”dangerously implacable enemies” as reported in The Times.
Their battle was seen to become even more acrimonious recently, with Google’s launch of its own social networking tool Buzz - which aims to unite Gmail users into a network of shared information. In addition, Google also purchased a social networking site called Aardvark, which intends to ”tap into the knowledge of people in your network”. Therefore, in Facebook’s opinion, Google is rapidly encroaching into its remit.
David Rowan, editor of Wired, writes about the new rivalry, saying: ”What we are witnessing is the ultimate battle for control of the internet, where Google has dominated the desktop-internet era for a decade through its unbeatable algorithm-based computing power.” However, Rowan comments that we are entering a new mobile era where the likes of Facebook will dominate ”knowing what we are thinking, doing and intending to spend, wherever we happen to be – the proprietary gatekeeper”.
Indeed, Facebook is certainly seen as the current leader by the likes of The Times, who comment that Facebook’s human centric view of the internet, plays on an individual’s desire to climb the social hierarchy of having lots of contacts, content and information at their feet.
Rowan believes that the battle is not won, commenting that fashions change rapidly in the ”online ecosystem” with Friendster, Friends Reunited and MySpace all falling out of favour in a short space of time.
Facebook’s Achilles heel is seen to be its privacy policy – a policy which is not so stringent with the likes of Buzz, despite Facebook’s business being built on giving advertisers access to users preferences. In addition, Google reportedly has over $25b at its disposal whilst Facebook only started making a positive profit last year. The battle is not won yet and it seems it is set to rage on for the time being according to industry sources.
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