Thursday, August 2, 2007

Google: a Search Engine or Content Disseminator?

As mobile carriers struggle to increase revenues through data plans, Google's continuing interest in dominating information delivery is ominous. Google with its deep pockets is pursuing the 700Mhz spectrum, developing prototypes of Google phones and partnering with the mobile carriers for mobile browsers enabled, naturally, with Google as the search engine. Advertising revenues will pay the light bill at Google. This move by Google greatly disturbs the carriers who also desire ad revenues to counteract the cell phone sales slump until more users agree to pay for mobile Web services. While Google's move into the cellular space is expected, its desire to invade mobile space as profitably as it has dominated non-mobile web space is a great concern. Google essentially is a content distributor--not only a search engine. Google brings value to users' web experiences due to its ability to deliver the content sought by its users, similar to Real Networks, a content distributor. Google is an electronic newspaper without reporters that provides searchable content quickly and effectively. It has no value as a content producer. Google's technology simply points users in the right direction like a book's table of contents or its index. Realizing this, it is reasonable why Google continues to seek new ventures such as GrandCentral, a web-based telecommunications service providing integrated mobile and landline telephony services, a further expansion of Google's marketing strategy to dominate the telecommunications space. This is both strategic and necessary for Google, since global mobile users increasingly seek content via their mobile devices in addition to voice. Without mobile ventures, Google's growth rate would diminish. Those concerned about global domination of mobile information dissemination and Internet connectivity should carefully watch Google's march into mobile telephony. The AT&T break-up in 1974 resulting in the "Baby Bells" (Regional Bell Operating Systems or RBOC's), followed by its recent demise as only a brand, demonstrates that the Internet, similar to AT&T's telecommunications monopoly, can and does reduce competition, wiping out competitors and technological advances. Readers will find additional information on wireless on my other blogs: Mobile Telephone Marketing, my eBay blog, reviews and guides and on my Innovative Communication Solutions website.