| Search Engines -- we all know -- are relatively new | | | | a situation that has no real parallel in an other business. |
| companies which have no comparable benchmark in | | | | The next best parallel of the search business is the |
| business or in organizing. The SE business is unique. | | | | library business. The business intelligence of a librarian |
| Microsoft recently announced that it would launch a | | | | is also valuable as it knows people's behavior through |
| new search engine called Kumo. There is probably | | | | time (what do people read these days), but it has |
| much to improve on the technical, semantic or what | | | | limited predictable value; books are only books and |
| ever level in the search process. | | | | what people read has little to do with business trends. |
| The organization of the search engine received much | | | | So Google for example know as one of the first |
| less attention as this is part of the companies | | | | where people change their focus in the market. Most |
| operating them (Google, Yahoo, MS). When Google | | | | companies have business intelligence, but that is related |
| announced that the crisis "obviously will affect online | | | | to their own business. In this case Google's business |
| advertising market" ... and that they "are not immune," | | | | intelligence is about other's people -- the world -- |
| (1) that was for many a revelation but understandable. | | | | business. |
| The search business and more for the big three | | | | 99% of Google's income is related to advertisement, |
| Search Engines is a business that best resembles that | | | | that is one of the risks the company states in its |
| of a trading company like that of a stock exchange. | | | | annual report. |
| The big difference is that on a stock exchange | | | | But there are enough new business opportunities in the |
| everybody can see what is traded. In the search | | | | area of business intelligence. But that might conflict with |
| engine market there are only three companies -- one | | | | their "be no evil" trademark selling information of users |
| of them with a market share of 60% -- who have the | | | | to other users. |
| single power to notice the market movements. This is | | | | |