The SEARCH

I just completed reading John Battelle's excellent book, THE SEARCH. The book is not solely about Google/GOOG. In its pages, John does a masterful job explaining the history of the search industry, the genesis and IPO of Google, fills in the background of its current crop of competitors, and limns scenarios for possible and potential futures that will leave you gasping for air and quivering with excitement. John also states emphatically and repeatedly that search drives commerce, which is an interesting argument; many people believe the opposite. (The argument being that people know what they desire to buy, and merely search for best price and/or availability; commerce drives search.) I agree with John, perhaps because I am wired similarly or because of the quality of his arguments. This book reads quickly and easily, and might even have you reach for a share purchase ticket... or two. I recommend this book both for purchase and of course to read! (I provide a link to the book's Amazon page in the sidebar to the left.)

John also references Paul Ford's entertaining and enlightening article, August 2009: How Google beat Amazon and Ebay to the Semantic Web. (Yes, it is worth your time to read.)

Last, Google/GOOG reports Q3 earnings this Thursday. Go here for the webcast of the conference call...