BLOG: Google's scale gives it a head start on TV search
NEWS that Google is testing how users could search for broadcast and video content via set-top boxes loaded with its Android operating system should surprise no-one.
The company's sheer scale - and the free capital it generates - means it could be a perennial innovator for years to come. Certainly, the last few years have seen a flurry of new services, from Chrome to sideWiki and more - and there's little to suggest that this is going to stop.
The outcome is hegemony of the search market as it's currently constructed - the Microsoft of search. You know its won the battle when its brand name becomes a verb. Just as you Hoover the floor, you Google the web. Oh, for the day when people 'Paver' the media.
Whilst I can dream, Google has this is in its grasp. The key will be at what point institutional fear takes hold and, rather than bold innovation, the culture shifts towards protecting its existing assets. That's the point at which rivals will be able to gain some traction and start chipping away at its leadership. And it will happen.
Remember British Airways? They ignored a little Irish upstart flying tin cans from Waterford to Luton 20 years ago and for years continued to dismiss them. Now that they've ceded their entire European short-haul profits to Ryanair they have cause to think that, maybe, building defensive walls around your business model isn't the cleverest thing.
Google, be warned.
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Alistair Houghton
LDP Business reporter Alistair Houghton brings you the latest news and views from the creative sector in Merseyside. Get in touch if you've got a story you want to tell
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