I label Christine Varney as the most likely Google killer. http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2009/07/27/varney-getting-pushback-...
I was going to say the exact thing. Government is the real killer.
There’s No Such Thing As A Google Killer
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Re: There’s No Such Thing As A Google Killer
#22"X Killer" never meant that in my experience. It is phrased as such because it generates clicks and ad revenue. That's it. A lot of headlines are hyperbolic because they are designed to garner attention. They also serve to introduce concepts to people who aren't familiar with the field. Saying "web search start up" to a layman isn't going to excite much, but "google killer" will, regardless of accuracy.
Was there ever a "X killer" that actually killed the X? I cannot think of one example. If something is branded that way, must be a loser already. True "X killers" are like ninjas that come unnoticed and unexpected.
"Was there ever a "X killer" that actually killed the X?"
I would think Dell, Amazon and Wikipedia would this idea.
That being said, I would define "X killer" as an organisation that completely dominates it's field. In all of the above cases, they managed to beat their competitors in price point and range.
Re: There’s No Such Thing As A Google Killer
#23IMO, on search and presentation of results, Google can be beaten. I just do not believe that what they have there now is the best that can be achieved in this field. It's plain, makes limited use of colour to provide more information about results (is this page for a business, is it a forum, is it a MFA info site, is it a blog, or a mailing list archive?), gets pretty messy once the top and side ad positions are full…
Fully agree. And it's also almost impossible for Google to change their presentation, because they would immediately confuse millions of users. This is a weakness that can be exploited by a new competitor. Cuil did some work in that area, it was promising.
all the attempts to provide "richer" results have failed pretty badly though. that should be telling.
I prefer googles "raw" results - it leaves the processing to my brain rather than a computer :)
Re: There’s No Such Thing As A Google Killer
#24The Google killer isn't going to be a search engine, just as the Microsoft killer isn't a software company, just as the IBM killer wasn't a computer manufacturer.
And, in fact, none of those companies are dead (or close).
Re: There’s No Such Thing As A Google Killer
#25The only company even remotely in a position to kill google is google itself. If they mess up badly enough in the eyes of their users then there would be a mass exodus, as long as they keep doing what they're doing now they will outlast all of us.
Re: There’s No Such Thing As A Google Killer
#26The Google killer isn't going to be a search engine, just as the Microsoft killer isn't a software company, just as the IBM killer wasn't a computer manufacturer.
And, in fact, none of those companies are dead (or close).
It all depends on yor definition of dead. http://www.paulgraham.com/microsoft.html