The Death of Google and Facebook by 2017?

I recently read a provocative article in the Forbes investment section called Here's Why Google and Facebook Might Completely Disappear in the Next 5 Years, by Eric Jackson.

The article made some aggressive yet also believable assumptions about the social media and web search giants, mostly involving their alleged inability to keep up with the ever-increasing threat called mobile. The author makes it seem viable that if they don't keep up with the evolution of the web, and how consumers buy, then they could disappear in a puff of smoke within 5 years.

Read this fascinating article on Forbes.

I have talked about mobile before, and how important it is to make sure to have your website and stories in digital formats that can be seen on both traditional computers and mobile devices, as well as usability across multiple social platforms.  Ultimately, if you remember those two things there is not much reason to fear.

The article makes the assertion that Google, whose market share is 76% direct web searches, might eventually lost a huge chunk to new competitors like Siri, which is a mobile application that allows searching the internet via voice commands.  The author then goes on to explain how Google's late-entry into the social market via the ailing Google+, was an even bigger hit to the now reigning king of the web. I think he might have some valid points with these arguments. It is definitely something to think about.

He talks about how Facebook has been extremely slow to enter into the mobile arena, with a relatively rudimentary app that has very few of the functions of the main application itself. Facebook recently bought Instagram for a whopping $1.8 billion, in order to compete in the mobile market. I'm not so sure that Facebook will be gone in five years. I think they have some more tricks up their sleeves.

Unmentioned in the title but discussed in the article was Amazon, and how it could even take a hit because it lacks social presence. I, like many reviewers of the article, somewhat disagree with that statement. Many consumers, including myself, use the Amazon reviews extensively. And Amazon has purchasing ability on mobile applications. Also, Amazon with its Kindle has revolutionized the book publishing industry. I think Amazon will be around for many years to come. It has earned massive brand loyalty. So, friends, if your desire is to tell your stories via digital median on Amazon's digital publishing platform...go for it!

Are you still dragging your feet about getting a smartphone and going mobile? The article has a great quote from Apple's CEO Tim Cook, that puts everything into perspective:

"Through the last quarter, I should say, which is just 2 years after we shipped the initial iPad, we’ve sold 67 million. And to put that in some context, it took us 24 years to sell that many Macs and 5 years for that many iPods and over 3 years for that many iPhones. And we were extremely happy with the trajectory on all of those products. And so I think iPad, it’s a profound product."

Click here to read the rest of Tim's article call transcript, from April 2012, discussing Q2 2012 earnings. Apple, as the original article points out, has done things right. Pay attention to what they have done. Simply make sure your rich media is viewable and usable on social media platforms as well as on mobile devices and you will be just fine, regardless of Facebook and Google's uncertain future. However, I wouldn't count them out just yet. This has definitely been some great food for thought.