Eric Schmidt: Google not ‘dominant’ in search; Apple’s Siri a ‘threat’

By Andrew Couts November 7, 2011

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Google Chairman Eric Schmidt fought back accusations by a group of federal lawmakers that the Internet giant is a monopoly, saying that Google is not “overwhelmingly dominant” in the online search market, and competes with the likes of Facebook, Apple, Yahoo and Microsoft.

“I am confident that Google competes vigorously with a broad range of companies that go well beyond just Microsoft’s Bing and Yahoo,” wrote Schmidt in a letter response to the Senate antitrust committee released late last week. The committee is investigating claims that Google has an unfair advantage in the online search market. Schmidt added that “Google has none of the characteristics that I associate with market power.”

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Schmidt also said that it is possible for a startup to compete with Google in the search arena, despite its gargantuan head start.

“Google does not believe that scale is a barrier to entry. The Internet provides a level playing field for competition,” he said. “A lack of scale did not deter companies like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn from starting, finding an audience, and achieving widespread prominence, recognition, and ultimately success.”

Google currently enjoys approximately 65.3 percent of all online searches, according to ComScore, up from 64.8 percent in August.

In addition, Schmidt downplayed the role of its Android operating system, saying that “Google does not have a dominant position in the smartphone market. According to ComScore, Android operates on only 34.1 percent while Apple’s iOS runs on 43.1 percent. Moreover, competition in the market for mobile software platforms is fierce.”

Schmidt also addressed the role of Apple’s new Siri voice-controlled artificial intelligence system in the iPhone 4S, saying that it was a “significant development” for the smartphone industry — “a voice-activated means of accessing answers through iPhones that demonstrates the innovations in search,” he said. “Google has many strong competitors and we sometimes fail to anticipate the competitive threat posed by new methods of accessing information.”

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The FTC may once again go after Google for abusing search dominance

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Google is constantly going through antitrust lawsuits in Europe, but it seems like the company may once again have to deal with them stateside. The FTC is reportedly asking questions about whether or not Google is abusing its dominance in the search market, suggesting that the agency may be looking to reopen an investigation that was closed three years ago.

According to a report from Politico, which cites "sources close to the matter," antitrust officials at the FTC have been in talks with executives at "a major U.S. company that objects to Google's practices." Despite the fact that talks seem to be in their early stages, the reports do show that perhaps Google isn't done with antitrust lawsuits just yet.

Emerging Tech

Apple, Google, and other tech companies lead the way in fighting climate change

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Going green is all the rage in corporate America these days, especially with stakeholders expressing a deeper interest in supporting companies with green, sustainable practices. And now, tech giants Google, Microsoft, and Apple have joined the White House to launch the American Business Act on Climate Pledge, along with 10 other behemoths of business: Alcoa, Bank of America, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Cargill, Coca-Cola, General Motors, Goldman Sachs, PepsiCo, UPS, and Walmart. With more than $1.3 trillion in combined revenue last year and a total "market capitalization of at least $2.5 trillion," if this group puts their money where their mouths are, there might be some serious movement in the climate change community in the very near future.

At least, this is the hope of Secretary of State John Kerry and other members of the Obama administration, who have brought together the aforementioned heavy hitters to draw attention to the climate crisis, reinforce their own commitment to taking action against the issue, and ultimately, set an example for their peers. Unfortunately, there appear to be few truly actionable steps being taken today (especially among companies that are already considered "green" to the casual observer), but still, the message behind the movement is growing louder and clearer.

Mobile

Why Facebook’s Graph Search needs to be mobile right now

Facebook’s Graph Search announcement met with an outsized response from the tech press this week. Those of us who wanted a Facebook phone - ill-advised as that may have been - came away somewhat disappointed by Mountain View’s foray into search. Others might see this as yet another step into Facebook’s vision of total online hegemony, turning the social network into the de facto Internet.
The fact remains, however, that Graph Search is a confusingly desktop-only affair right now. We’ve been told that Graph Search will hit mobile "tomorrow" (figuratively, not literally), but for a company that Zuckerberg has characterized as “really a mobile company” those innovations need to be happening right now. Right where most of Facebook’s users can see them.
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There’s no question that Facebook is taking on the Web at large with this new effort. LinkedIn, Yelp, Foursquare, and even OkCupid have a few things to worry about since Facebook has now planted itself firmly in all their wheelhouses.
But where Facebook may face obstacles disrupting online recruitment and dating - put simply, it’s a whole lot easier to search for a stranger than to message one - local search is where it can bury the competition.
Presently, Facebook has more than 1 billion users. 600 million of those are mobile users, and roughly 100 million only use the site on their mobile devices. Such users will want to find the best restaurants and best night spots, not from home, but when they’re already out and about. Facebook can accomplish that with ease, having already scaled to meet that potential demand; the platform is already advertising Graph Search as something businesses should be very, very interested in utilizing. The site also already has a check-in function, as well as the newly implemented Nearby feature. With the power of Graph Search, users needn’t reference Foursquare or find places on Yelp. Facebook will have locked them in as soon as they step out the door.
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With yesterday’s rollout of free calling via Messenger for iPhone, Facebook can now officially stand alongside the likes of Skype as a true VoIP solution. The ramifications of this step are huge, as Facebook’s community dwarfs Skype's, and free calls over Wi-Fi or data gives people the means to save a ton on cell service. The iPhone is now as close to a bonafide Facebook Phone as we’re going to see, and the feature can’t be far behind for other platforms.
Merging search into such a product is a no-brainer. Your contacts and your favorite places are only a few clicks away. All that’s left is video calling. But guess what: Facebook already has a deal with Skype to make that happen on the desktop. Adding mobile to the mix could create a perfect storm that changes mobile telephony in a big way.
Voice search
Mark Zuckerberg made much of the fact that Graph Search understands natural speech when you enter queries. “Costa Rican men living near New York City” could seriously be something you could search for on Facebook, and Graph Search will deliver. I’m not saying you should do a search like that, but you could and that’s a powerful thing.
But what sense is there using natural speech if it can’t be spoken? Facebook would be in a place to compete with the likes of Siri and even Google Now by making search voice-ready. Of course, the engineering to bring such a project to fruition would outstrip what Facebook has already accomplished with Graph Search. Still, it should be on the radar for the next step in their plan for world domination improving the user experience.
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And isn’t this the entire point? Facebook, like its arch-nemesis Google, is now an ad company, and its greatest strength is in serving ads to its now more than one billion customers. There’s simply no way to pretend that the search queries users will pump into Graph Search won’t be used to better connect people to services, companies, and experiences according to their Likes, wants, and needs.
Facebook, for its part, can’t pretend that computing is stagnant. People have increasingly begun to enjoy everything they have to offer on their smartphones and tablets. The app economy is entrenched, and Zuckerberg and his ilk would be foolish to leave money on the table for very long. So much has already been said about Facebook’s need to innovate. The developers in Mountain View need to understand that their revenue stream aren’t sitting at their desks anymore. They’re out in the world, and Facebook needs to meet them there.