Google and Facebook disappear in the next 5 years

Google seems to me to be moving in more social markets and facebook being the pinnacle of social networking and as such has there finger on the pulse on the markets and I believe they will evolve with the changing times.

...very wordy article. I had to skim it because it is mostly boring. I agree that the web is changing rapidly or actually how it is accessed but I don't see it going away. Websites are resources used by millions of people and their need for info will not end. Social networks come and go though. Facebook will decline shortly.

It all depends on how they adapt t changing climates. Facebook does a good job of that. Myspace didn't. Reasons I'm not gonna get into here cause it would be a list as tall as me, but nevertheless, as long as they embrace changes in technology, and more importantly what people want they should do ok.

Google...hmmmm...I don't know, and I'm not talking about the way they hammer IM'ers, I'm talking in general. Most people don't know what a back link or algorithm is yes they have a better search, or as good as it can be but what really made Google famous? What made people use google? The average person I'm speaking about.

Google became big because they had a simple interface that anyone can figure out and they made up a name that was quirky and cool. People love to "google this" and "google that", people love to say "did you google it" etc.

Is there search better? Yes. Does the average web surfer know the difference? No.

My point is that Facebook is a household name and they give something that people want, and as long as they keep doing that they will be fine.

Google on the other hand does something that can be replaced because for the most part noone really cares where they search from, they just go to Google because it's what they know.

As soon as someone comes out with the whole package: decent search, great branding, and a great name, you could see Google go Bye bye.

Bing was on the right path, but "did you bing it" just doesn't have the same quirky sound to it.

Almost everything that was considered immovable in the past has changed
as far as the web is concerned. Sometimes it's hard to see the possibility
of the change because the technology is not yet obvious.

-Ray Edwards

either way I wouldn't care, I would just use alexa to find out which site was the biggest during that time frame and that allowed me to advertise on them. Then I would advertise targeted offers to specific markets and continue to profit.

That is the power of building a business on solid business principles and not some lame flavor of the week tactic.

One of the best futurist that I ever heard Mike Collins spoke at a seminar and said something amazing:

We have invented only 1% of the internet and 99% is yet to come

Something like that, he might have quoted someone not sure but that was an incredible presentation and what I got out of it was that we have just started.

THAT IS EXCITING!

Interesting read. And like most of you, I agree that once something better comes along, people will start switching. For example, Myspace used to be King until FB took the crown. Same goes for Yahoo, when Google came.

But from a consumer point of view, I love Facebook, visit it everyday (catch up with friends, family, etc), it's incomprehensible to think that it could be gone one day... I just hope Facebook's marketing team is doing their job!

Lastly, that author sounds a bit too extreme for me.. web 3.0, web is dead? LOL seriously? but anyways. good read nonetheless

Well Facebook doesn't actually have 900million users. Everyone I know has a duplicate or dummy account and there are fake accounts set up everyday in order to be specifically used for marketing so although they are big they are not as big as they think and this Bloody stupid Timeline thing could be the start of the end.

Google is too big for it's own boots so I look forward to them falling!

That's is the one constant I love about the internet. There is no constant. Entire online empires can crumble overnight.

I require neither for my IM ventures.

Very Good Read, thanks for the share.

#Bestquote "Those who own the future are going to be the ones who create it. It’s all up for grabs. Web monopolies are not as sticky as the monopolies of old"

Google will evolve I think. They've invented a car that drives itself, for example.

Google's only enemy is the US Governement.

I do not believe that Facebook will be replaced by anything new for a while for a few reasons. One is that so many people are heavily invested in it and have been filling it up with their photos, thoughts and personalities for the last 5 years pretty heavily. People tend to defend the things they have invested so much time in, and get emotional when it is threatened. Even is they are no longer completely sold on it, they are invested in it and they don’t want to feel as if they wasted the past five years of their life on a thing just to see it disappear. People love their familiar ways, even if way do not really work.We are strange in that way. Also, just about every other social media site is immediately ties into FB in such a way as it is the central hub of these sites and apps. And it is essentially very user friendly. It is clean, simple and streamlined. Myspace was cluttered with ‘bling’ it was hard to look at and the format was challenging for older users. Facebook kept it simple plus it linked everyone in ways MS never did.. That being said eventually will come up with an easier , more user friendly system as IT develops new and exciting avenues of communication, and it will be replaced, but I do not think 5 years is a realistic timeline.

They cannot disappear just because they are already created. There is still Life Journal, My Space, Bebo and etc. They are alive. As it seems for me in next few years will be created new and more powerful social network and most of people will move to that network.

Why people change networks? Because if something trendy they want to be in. It doesn't matter how many photos and contacts they already have in current trendy network. Most of them will find their friends in new place!

Google will not disappear and will STAY DOMINATE because...it's Google lol. Nope, it will stay because company realized that Google equals search engine. For this reason so many Google Labs projects were closed for last year. There were so many attempts to beat Google, but it's still number one, because they make changes before it will be too late.

Finally, I think that we can focus on Bing more than on Google. Recently MicroSoft was announced new social network So.Cl which is based on search results. I don't like G+, but I will definitely get my account in So.Cl and will use it.

2dhazard: People were so excited with creating their My Space accounts and filling them with thoughts, photos and etc. and so what? They registered in FB and moved all their stuff into FB. Why? Because FB is trendy! Did you get it?

at least they're giving a little bit of time in this case before claiming something is dead :rolleyes:. The sites will die when they die. I'd rather worry about the livelihood of my own online property.

I do get a feeling facebook will end up going away. I can't put my finger on it. I also feel that G+ WON'T be the medium that takes facebook down.

Google, I can't ever imagine it.

All it takes is for both Google or Facebook to make a few ill fated mistakes leaving room for some other company to capitalize

I can't see Google going off the radar anytime soon to be honest. Google is constantly adding new social features on. They brought out Google+, and they brought out lots of other unique features. I can't see any search engine or social network matching Google for a good 8+ years.

I've always viewed Facebook in it's current form as a long-term fad. They're still trying to find ways to bring in additional revenue. They've been slowly buying other, smaller companies, which I suspect is part of a much larger strategy, but who knows how that will fare.

Google, not as much; however, one thing I do agree with is that both companies have to learn to adapt in order to survive. If they were to both disappear over time, the impact on my business would be marginal. I don't depend on FB at all for traffic and Google is roughly 5% of my over all traffic.

Only time will tell on what's going to happe to both of them; in any case, it'll be an interesting set of stories to watch.

RoD

I think that neither of them are going anywhere. Zuckerburg however maybe on his way out. It seems to me that Google likes to buy everything good out. They are the internet! If Google owned Facebook what would be left? I love marketing but I only use FB for my business. I don't like being pitched to while I am trying to see what my friends are up to. The money has killed Facebook as we know it.

5 to 7 years is a long way to predict

Google will remain the strongest howevere

my view is Google and, to a lesser extent, Facebook are here to stay for ever.
They where the right idea at the right time and have now grown so big that they are practically impossible to move.
Also, so many other websites rely on them, with facebook's simple login button for easy signups to all the tools that Google has, that how can you imagine life without them?

I hope that Google still stays around, I still feel that I am a bit of a Google Fanboi myself. However, the addiction to competing with Facebook, I don't think is healthy. Imagine if they co operated, a Google Facebook hybrid.

Patent Wars are whats going to kill off diversity and development sooner rather than later.

Google has already begun their shift. They're moving away from where they once were: understanding a search query and referring people to relevant websites.

Nowadays, they're working diligently at keeping visitors on their own site.

Have you seen the "Knowledge Graph"? In the US, if you do a Google search for "Einstein", instead of being shown a list of websites where you can learn more, Google has scraped available websites and now displays key facts about Albert Einstein from wikipedia. They've also "borrowed" a photo from a page of Einstein quotes at quoteaboutlifes.blogspot.com.

But there's more than just Knowledge Graph. Want to know the weather in your town? Whereas once upon a time Google simply referred to weather.com or the NOAA government website, now local current weather conditions are displayed at the top of the SERPs.

When I have out of town guests flying in, I would do a Google search for "Flight Tracker" and get referred to one of several flight tracking websites.

But now, just type "Jetblue 1402" into the search box and the top result is the latest flight information. If flightaware.com (the top result) was relying on Google as its primary referrer of traffic, those days are over.

Early warning:
if you're relying on SEO (Especially Google) as your primary referrer and source of traffic - it's time to start diversifying your traffic streams.

Nothing stays forever. This too will pass. New tech will show up like robotic computers which has all the collective human knowledge with communications. All you do is talk and all security like face recognition, voice recognition etc., the whole works, your house is all controlled, temperature, wall tv, 'hey I wanna watch this movie but don't know the title' find it for me!' The robot does it all for you. order a pizza, talk to a friend through the 3D video cam on the robot or on the wall tv. lol.

Maybe it will happen or may be not. Who knows, we can see after 5 years. lol. Anyway, there’s a saying that nothing is permanent in this world, only change. So, we can never really tell. There is always something better that comes along and replaces the other.
It will be up to google and facebook on how they innovate and develop their services so people will not get bored with their same old features.

This is such an awesome, enlightening thread! Coming through with so many epiphanies from these replies!

I'm one of those people that relied entirely on Google for my biz and now I am starving. Can't keep up with their constant changing ...but I now see from these posts the error in my ways and that I shouldn't have limited myself to pleasing just ONE search source alone

I can easily see Google lasting longer than another 5 years. I cannot for Facebook, however.

Not completely agree with the Statemaent "Google and Facebook disappear in the next 5 years"

Facebook was created for the people to increase their social networks but gradually people started to using it for the commercial purpose.

May be in future facebook will remain only for the main purpose for what it was actually created, although FB has so many users than Google+ but Google+ is having more importance than Facebook.

Google is one of the popular search engine so definitely it will keep its importance in future also.

Today Google+ is having more importance than FB.

So, obviously Google and FB both will remain in future but will see that which one will lead the market?

Google Owns Android...sup' mobile world?

Google and Facebook Dead in 5 Years? Fat Chance! - Forbes

Opinions that say fb and google are here to stay

Something I can't understand is how anyone could think Google will go away or even change much for that matter. The reason why I think that is because I think of myself. I always go to Google and use the search. There's nothing else I could possibly want. I love putting in search terms and getting a list of what I'm searching for. I NEVER use FB for that nor would I want to. I've found recommendations from "freinds" to be of little help to me over the years. I'm always best served finding my own results whether it's a restaurant or a website. So, when I hear of these strange ideas of search engines turning into some complicated tool with likes, dislikes, ratings, friends ect, I just think how I'd feel if I had to go through those hoops and I know I'd cease to use them if that were the case.

It was a bit too heavy for me to read but I think there is more likely to be a 'coming together' of the giants.

imo, theyre not going anywhere. At least google wont.

imo, theyre not going anywhere. at least google wont.

I personally don't think that google will die. Google is so established also. It is the core most useful tool for the web and will continue to be so. Facebook on the other hand possibly. If facebook is able to change as the internet changes then it should be fine. I think what is more interesting is to know what other major websites will be created.

lol That sums it up perfectly for me as well.

This is an unstable industry we are in. Anything can happen. Personally I think its still a few years early for them to retire. But if something better comes, then I am all the more happy for it.

Forbes have some pretty good history and results, from their research on money matters.. but to simplify it...

Facebook here in 5 years > A Nope to Maybe Just!

< Think Boo.com failure, with worse in-house ideas & marketing

Google here in 5 years > 100% without a shadow of doubt!

< Think Apple in the 80's with much better in-house ideas & marketing!

OR

Check out the FB V Google finances in full

We posted this for FUN, seems we could be right, sooner than later

http://www.warriorforum.com/off-topi...acebook+shares

Don't know about Facebook but Google isn't going anywhere.
Anyway I don't think that Facebook will disappear within next few years also.
Because now a days peoples have not enough time to connect with every friends individually,
so here you must have need a common social network to save your valuable time.

I don't believe that any of those will disappear in the near future... If Facebook closes, internet users will decrease to half! I couldn't find a good reason why Facebook or Google should shut down..

I disagree..

As long as internet is alive, Google and facebook will never close down until any natural disaster happens.

My friends and I have had this conversation many times. I always ask "Why doesnt Facebook have their own search engine?" it honestly doesn't even have to be good to get hundreds of millions using it monthly. It would be way more convienent for people. That would pretty much stop Google in its tracks and possibly even help Yahoo and Bing with their market share.

I think all predictions of that kind are just pure speculation especially with regards to specific time frames.

MySpace was huge before Facebook. Alta Vista was once the preeminent search engine. Internet Explorer was the leading web browser.

Can you name the number one producer of buggy whips?

How about the best manufacturer of 8-track players?

Woolworth's was the corner store that could never close. Now closed.

Pets.com sold pet supplies online to retail customers. In June 2008, CNET named Pets.com as one of the greatest dot-com disasters in history.

What is the number one chain of blacksmiths in Manhattan?

Remember those bicycles commonly known as "penny-farthings" with the huge wheel in the front and the tiny wheel in the back? Who made those?

Sears & Roebuck was the undefeatable catalog store. Now owned by Kmart.

Pan Am was the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991. Couldn't even get to a second season as a trashy ABC television series.

Delta Airlines, Global Crossing, Pacific Gas & Electric and Texaco (merged with Chevron)have all filed bankruptcy. Bethlehem Steel disappeared entirely within a few years of filing for bankruptcy in 2001.

Lionel Corporation was an American toy manufacturer and retailer known for the best model trains. Filed bankruptcy and sold the product dyes for its struggling train line and the rights to the Lionel brand name to the cereal company General Mills.

Commodore International developed and marketed the world's best-selling desktop computer, the Commodore 64. Declared bankruptcy in 1994, and its assets were liquidated.

Ezinearticles.com, once the most powerful of article directories, lost half its traffic in the wake of the Panda update.

Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company. Bankruptcy plus prison terms. Their auditor Arthur Andersen voluntarily surrendered licenses to practice as Certified Public Accountants in the United States in the wake of that scandal.

Tower Records was a retail music chain. Filed for bankruptcy and is now an online only music store. Napster was a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service. Shut down by the RIAA.

Polaroid went bankrupt. WaMu (Washington Mutual Savings) was the largest bank failure in history. Sharper Image closed it's doors.

and of course...

Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch. Can anyone say "Too Big to Fail"?

Every company faces market risk. Every business must capture enough market share to stay afloat. Google and Facebook are not special in that regard. They are not impervious to the turbulent forces of the marketplace.

Google will never disappear because when the millions of people need to search for something, will they use Ask, Bing, Yahoo OR google?

Google of course!

Raydal I honestly agree about Facebook going away in the years to come as I myself have seen the decrease in the usage of the website. My friends and relatives also have slowed down with Facebook. It was a big hype before but now it's coming to an end. On the other hand, about Google I honestly don't see Google just disappearing away. Such a big company with so many links to the online world, if it just simply disappeared, I couldn't imagine what would happen. Anyways, I didn't really bother reading through most of the article as it was really boring. But these are just my thoughts on this whole Google and Facebook disappearing hype that's been going around.

Facebook will absolutely be "Myspace Gone" in 5 years. It's a fad, which is why the IPO was such a disaster. People saw through the fad. It's obvious that it will go the way of AOL and Myspace and is already trending in that direction.

Google on the other hand has been the most dynamic, evolving company of the last decade and has a proven track record of being able to adapt to new trends. I don't see it going the way of Myspace in the next 5 years at all.

Google and Facebook can't even be compared or lumped together in this type of assessment. They're not even remotely close to the same type of company. Facebook is about as one-dimensional as a company can be - another reason their stock is floundering. It has no other foothold once it's social networking platform wanes. Google on the other hand is very multi-dimensional with the search engine and ad platforms, it's Android operating system, it's social networking platform (Google Plus), Youtube, and it's ultra-high-speed internet service (this is in the testing phase if I remember correctly), just to name a few of its operations. This drastically sets it apart from Facebook.

I seriously doubt that Facebook or Google for that matter will disappear in the next decade or two.

1. People NEED Google (I know I do)
2. People are ADDICTED to Facebook (like some people I know)

Not gonna happen.

mmm no, they will be here for a loooong long time, I don't see them dissapearing easily.

I don't know. Google + seems to have been a failure despite it is about a year old. No one outside of IMers is using it. On the other hand, Facebook is acting bizarre and worrying more about shareholders than its users. Too many ads and now you have to pay to have your posts appearing at the top of people's feeds (I guess this only benefits the big companies).

I'm also noticing the new search engines appearing. While Bing still remains unpopular, there are other new SE which are taking a small albeit increasing % of searches. Surely, if G doesn't get their act together they will lose in a few years.

My main complain about G is that it is focusing too much on Adwords and doesn't care much about publishers (e.g. website owners), the latter being the source of G's popularity: if all webmasters blocked the Google spider then G would die, can you imagine if all webmasters agreed to do that? Damn, that'll be epic.

Id probably say they'll both be round for a very long time. I would say Facebook would disappear long before Google if it was to go as Google just seems huge and everyone's search tool?

If Google and Facebook disappear, I believe will there a even greater.

I can' t imagine how much people get loss if google and facebook will disappear in the future.

Google and FB will go away in 5 years? Unless they are like Netscape or Yahoo...they won't go way just like that.

They have money and they evolve to compete. So who is to say that they will be gone in 5 years? With money they can acquire startups or new companies with new trends. With the competitive spirit, they will not rest in complacency.

So, not. We don't see anything that is posing a threat to them yet. Pinterest?

Theoretically we can prove everything but the practical life is far beyond those dream. People will not look behind and will not return to stone age. Google is the ultimate necessity and Facebook has become the most important social platform. So, I find no reason that even within next 50 years, they will loss their importance.

Personally I don't agree with the article, more exactly I don't agree with the arguments they provide.

In the article it's stated that users needs change and that may be the end of Facebook and Google.

I believe in 5 years users will still need to search the web or socialize with friends. Probably they will have different expectations from the tools they are using to satisfy those needs. That doesn't mean Google or Facebook will disappeared. They will disappear only if they don't manage to adapt.

Myspace didn't died because Facebook was launched. Myspace died because it became a monster with all those customized profiles, glitters and excessive spam.

In the end it's simple business - as long as you how to manage it, satisfy your customers and be a leader in the market you will have nothing to worry about.
When you will no longer understand what your customers what from you/or how to make your customers want what you are offering them, some new shiny thing will come and take all your customers.

Nothing is impossible, as Apple to a big market share from Microsoft. Who could predict this 5 years ago?

Facebook might lose territory to new smarter platforms without all those annyoing games (my opinion)... or they will get more territory...
I use Facebook for sharing pictures and inviting to parties. I cannot imagine to quit the account and move over to a new place and start all over...

Google is another area. I think Google is here to stay. Why altavista and other search machines lost territory in the past was because of their lack of simplicity. The Google search algorithm are to me far better than eg. Yahoo... Google inc. grows bigger and bigger and gets more popular; I think Google is here to stay... For at least some decades