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Google’s stock slid after report on search ad decline

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Re: Google’s stock slid after report on search ad decline

#81

Post by amelius »

tim333 wrote: post #70
amelius wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It saddens me that so many smart people work for IT companies like Google and Facebook, while they could make a real difference doing medical or fundamental physics research.

Google probably makes quite a difference to medical research/treatment through its search facilities. Also this stuff http://www.forbes.com/sites/leoking/2015/08/24/google-sergey...

So instead of doing medical research yourself, you do IT work for a big company, so that its money can buy medical research?

Re: Google’s stock slid after report on search ad decline

#82

Post by petra »

Certhas wrote: post #42
Maarten88 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my environment (Netherlands) I'd say that WhatsApp is now the primary social networking tool for most people. I wonder how that is going to work out for Facebook.

Facebook owns WhatsApp. The question is what they are going to do with it. WhatsApp with end to end encryption seems to not allow for the type of monetization people are talking about here.

Maybe it's possible to do ad-targeting on the client.

Re: Google’s stock slid after report on search ad decline

#83

Post by pratyushag2 »

amelius wrote: post #64
msoad wrote: post #2

As much as people like to consider Google revenu sources very diverse or dream about future of other Google bets, Google is mostly an advertisement company heavily relying on their search business. It's obvious that Facebook has a better position for growth and adding new channels for their ads business. I can see Facebook share of online advertising grow in the next couple of years.

It saddens me that so many smart people work for IT companies like Google and Facebook, while they could make a real difference doing medical or fundamental physics research.

Google and Facebook provide tools to help people implement their dreams. For example, our nonprofit heavily relies on Google's services (email, drive, sheets)for everything. In fact, sheets doubles as a database that can be used for all sorts of functionalities without needing to learn how to code. My point is that tools that help other companies in their journey to innovate can make a real difference. I realized this only when we were in Nigeria setting up the entire program. I am much less convinced bout Facebook of course but I imagine it helps new businesses with an avenue to get a lot of early revenue. Substitutes, at least for Google products for me seem much less functional in comparison and would probably require an equal # of engineers.

I have no stock in Google or Facebook and don't benefit by promoting either in any way. I just genuinely appreciate what Google's tools has allowed us to do (linked spreadsheets, email, docs, Android, Chromebook, drive and search of course!). I don't care much for fb but I imagine there are businesses that wouldn't survive w/o it and whatsapp is amazing at bringing ppl closer.

Re: Google’s stock slid after report on search ad decline

#84

Post by Zenst »

I equally wonder what the impact of Google/Alphabet supporting the TTIP trade agreement that many deem evil will have impact wise. Indeed seen a few people deemed that the straw that broke the camels back for them and dealings with Google/Alphabet and not the other way around.

Re: Google’s stock slid after report on search ad decline

#85

Post by coldtea »

Jabbles wrote: post #66
amelius wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of those products you name, GMail, Youtube, Chrome, Maps and Docs are near-commodity products. These are just basic services for which open-source versions exist, and every engineering team of about 50 people could easily recreate them given today's state of technology. This also holds for Facebook. The real struggle lies not in the technology, but in the network-effect and branding.

What do you think the thousands of engineers that work on these products are doing? You realise that there's a lot more to these products than the web interface?

>What do you think the thousands of engineers that work on these products are doing?

Not much. Usually worsening them...

Re: Google’s stock slid after report on search ad decline

#86

Post by reefoctopus »

msoad wrote: post #2

As much as people like to consider Google revenu sources very diverse or dream about future of other Google bets, Google is mostly an advertisement company heavily relying on their search business. It's obvious that Facebook has a better position for growth and adding new channels for their ads business. I can see Facebook share of online advertising grow in the next couple of years.

My media company uses facebook because it is very easy to target those who would be interested in our product. We've found it is very difficult to keep our ads running. Despite being told that our ads are in compliance with their "20% text rule" they are regularly disabled. In addition, the initial traffic is always much better than after the ad has been running for several weeks. This makes facebook advertising very costly in terms of labor.

Re: Google’s stock slid after report on search ad decline

#87

Post by tim333 »

amelius wrote: post #81
tim333 wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google probably makes quite a difference to medical research/treatment through its search facilities. Also this stuff http://www.forbes.com/sites/leoking/2015/08/24/google-sergey...

So instead of doing medical research yourself, you do IT work for a big company, so that its money can buy medical research?

In Google's case their actual product helps with research aside from the money.

Re: Google’s stock slid after report on search ad decline

#88

Post by benologist »

smt88 wrote: post #33
tomglynch wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It hasn't been an issue until now. Google is an advertising business making real money by advertising. Is this due to the increasing popularity of ad-blockers?

Ad blockers are probably an issue, but people blocking ads probably weren't clicking on many ads, either. Other theories might be the economy starting to dip (which would be reflected in trimming of marketing budgets) and competition. Competition is interesting. In 2005, there were tons of online stores, and users found them through Google search. Nowadays, most brands seem to have an Amazon store. If a user wants to…

Ad blocking now covers ~50% of millennials, iPhones, Asus android phones, and soon more. It is snowballing into a "there is no next generation of ad consumers" problem.

Re: Google’s stock slid after report on search ad decline

#89

Post by j1vms »

AznHisoka wrote: post #60
ohashi wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They also neglect intent. When I search for something, I want it, at that moment. When I see an ad on my facebook page, it's trying to guess what I want at that moment, but I'm actually doing something else and the ad is simply trying to distract me and convince me I need something at that moment.

Yep. Facebook has just as many visitors as Google and makes much less. Sure they know what age I am, that I'm college educated, live in NY, like anime and startups. But would they know I'm suffering from hemorrhoids and need help? That I'm considering an abortion and need a clinic recommendation? I sure as heck ain't broadcasting that in my timeline.

Shit. Hope you get that stuff sorted out, probably deal with the hemorrhoids first.

(aside since I assume that was an example! :) [Edit: and in case you aren't, hope you do get that sorted out]

Google has better potential for growth, but it still needs to prove it can heavily monetize anything outside of search. That is, find a new business that is competitive with their search revenue, until it's too late.

Facebook's first success was monetizing mobile (which Google should have been able to do better than it currently does). Its potential to find new sources of revenue is good but not as great as Google's.

Only time will tell if either or both will succeed next. Since potential isn't as good as realized potential of course.

Re: Google’s stock slid after report on search ad decline

#90

Post by amelius »

pratyushag2 wrote: post #83
amelius wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It saddens me that so many smart people work for IT companies like Google and Facebook, while they could make a real difference doing medical or fundamental physics research.

Google and Facebook provide tools to help people implement their dreams. For example, our nonprofit heavily relies on Google's services (email, drive, sheets)for everything. In fact, sheets doubles as a database that can be used for all sorts of functionalities without needing to learn how to code. My point is that tools that help other companies in their journey to innovate can make a real difference. I realized thi…

> I just genuinely appreciate what Google's tools has allowed us to do (linked spreadsheets, email, docs, Android, Chromebook, drive and search of course!) [...] whatsapp is amazing at bringing ppl closer.

But Google and Facebook are not the only companies in town that provide these products. They just invest insane amounts of money (and thus human resources) to be marginally better than everybody else. That is the saddening part of it.

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