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The Billion Dollar Wars
Whenever I read the latest tech news I can't help but think of the BBC's now defunct weekly science series Tomorrow's World. I used to watch that show every week to see what wonderful inventions might be in store in the future. Funnily enough, I don't think many of them succeeded.
So it's worth remembering that reports of what the future may bring are not facts, especially when it comes to technology. Mobile web usage will certainly experience a boom but that's already an existing technology which will be vastly improved through easier-to-use handsets and data usage prices that won't give you a heart-attack.
The Battlegrounds
So what are the main battlegrounds for the future? The sheer number of people who are using the web, not to mention the growth in territories like China, means that the battle for Search traffic is really starting to hot up.
Not forgetting that alongside the billion dollar battle for your Search we have the billion dollar advertising battle for emerging media such as in-game advertising, mobile ads, video-on-demand ads, IPTV and a few other minor niches.
In terms of the Search war, Microsoft's answer to Google, LiveSearch, may not be the first thing that springs to mind yet (they currently have 9% of the market) but they're willing to spend enough money to try to persuade us otherwise. Having already tried to buy Yahoo!'s 20% search market share, their recent deal with Facebook should continue their campaign to challenge user habits through the sites we browse most often.
The Figures
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer even describes it as a "$1 trillion market" which goes someway to explaining why - according to Ballmer - Google spends $2.5 billion, with 70% of that in core search. MS believe they need to think about spending $1.2-$1.5 billion just to stay competitive.
Bearing in mind that revenue per search will not increase as quickly as these companies would like, it's certainly a high risk strategy. From installing LiveSearch software toolbars through HP hardware, integration with Facebook, to offering Cashback opportunities on LiveSearch, it would appear that the gloves are coming off and the billion dollar wars are set to get even more expensive.
To Google Or Not To Google
Will it change the way you search online? I wonder what Tomorrow's World would have to say.
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