The Guardian’s Media 100 was released yesterday filled with the big and bright of the ‘media’ industry (if the expanding and multifarious industry can still feasibly be categorised into such a neatly fitting box). Predictably, and I’d infer, by a long way, Larry Page and Sergey Brin made number one spot of all powerful new media gurus.
The achievements of the ever-expanding Google entity alone should be enough to secure this accolade, however, there is something that puts Google so far ahead in these rankings that it is almost scary to think about.
Google has rapidly managed to go from innovative, quirky ‘new media’ start-up to what is, the living, breathing and evolving centre of the web. Indeed it is reported that 70% of all web traffic is now directed via Google searches. This empire has been created with only the smallest whiff of anti-competitive investigation even though the company does have what is unquestionably a monopoly of the search industry. It’s clear that Google developed just too quickly for anyone to notice.
The fact is, Google now dictates whether your company exists or not online; being hidden from Google means being hidden from the world and almost all of your customers. Ask yourself, would you go to the second page of a Google search for a casual search term? Would you continue searching for a company if you couldn’t find them via Google in a few minutes? Very few people will take the time to consult a phone directory or call 118 if they’re just doing an initial search. This means if you’re dead to Google, your dead to the internet.
This uninhibited dominance of search has to be the real reason behind the Google top spot and will continue to be so for some time. Sergey and Larry’s invincible position in the Guardian Media rankings would really need something as industry changing as Google itself to ever truly dethrone them.
The company now owns almost all online visibility and companies that don’t realise this will lose interest, lose clients and ultimately, lose themselves in the age of Google.
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