Comments on: Explaining Google’s popularity http://www.esztersblog.com/2008/02/25/explaining-googles-popularity/ social commentary, gadgets, art, travel and whatever else comes to mind Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:56:04 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: david touve http://www.esztersblog.com/2008/02/25/explaining-googles-popularity/comment-page-1/#comment-14193 david touve Tue, 04 Mar 2008 03:22:25 +0000 http://www.esztersblog.com/2008/02/25/explaining-googles-popularity/#comment-14193 don't forget. Varian is the economist who wrote a book about the virtues of DRM, and how such a nifty technology will help the media industry profit in the digital era. I reckon Habit, the great predictor that is what you did in time t-1, is the reason people stick with google. They made the shift, and the choice for doing a search holds steady until something happens to shock behavior Human behavior is wonderfully predictable as long as we know what you did last time: don’t forget. Varian is the economist who wrote a book about the virtues of DRM, and how such a nifty technology will help the media industry profit in the digital era.

I reckon Habit, the great predictor that is what you did in time t-1, is the reason people stick with google. They made the shift, and the choice for doing a search holds steady until something happens to shock behavior

Human behavior is wonderfully predictable as long as we know what you did last time:

]]> By: Why Google Rules? - a thaumaturgical compendium http://www.esztersblog.com/2008/02/25/explaining-googles-popularity/comment-page-1/#comment-14190 Why Google Rules? - a thaumaturgical compendium Wed, 27 Feb 2008 06:04:10 +0000 http://www.esztersblog.com/2008/02/25/explaining-googles-popularity/#comment-14190 [...] Update: Not surprisingly, Eszter says it better. These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...] [...] Update: Not surprisingly, Eszter says it better. These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]

]]> By: a very public sociologist http://www.esztersblog.com/2008/02/25/explaining-googles-popularity/comment-page-1/#comment-14189 a very public sociologist Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:16:25 +0000 http://www.esztersblog.com/2008/02/25/explaining-googles-popularity/#comment-14189 As I said over at CT, I came over to Google from a mix of Yahoo, Webcrawler, and Excite after receiving a recommendation from quite a savvy moderator of a discussion forum. He thought it was more sensitive than other engines and endorsed it on that basis. Since then I've stuck with it - not out of brand loyalty, but convenience and habit I guess. As I said over at CT, I came over to Google from a mix of Yahoo, Webcrawler, and Excite after receiving a recommendation from quite a savvy moderator of a discussion forum. He thought it was more sensitive than other engines and endorsed it on that basis. Since then I’ve stuck with it – not out of brand loyalty, but convenience and habit I guess.

]]> By: Dima http://www.esztersblog.com/2008/02/25/explaining-googles-popularity/comment-page-1/#comment-14186 Dima Mon, 25 Feb 2008 23:14:37 +0000 http://www.esztersblog.com/2008/02/25/explaining-googles-popularity/#comment-14186 It is indeed an interesting idea and i think there are enough examples throughout the history. I believe the arrangement of modern keyboard and its alternative (i.e. QWERTY vs. Dvorak) is a very good example of lock-in and transition costs. Hitwise recent data shows that Google's other services lag far behind its search market share, which indeed strengthens the point you are making (I wish they had some comparison with alternatives to Google's online services). But mostly, i agree with you that this would be a fascinating topic to look at. For example, it would be actually really interesting to see if tech-savyness of the users (or their digital literacy) play role in their search engine mobility. And as to the claim of Google search quality, i wonder if the fact that Google has so much information about our online behavior makes its results more relevant/good/accurate for a specific user. Just a few thoughts... :) It is indeed an interesting idea and i think there are enough examples throughout the history. I believe the arrangement of modern keyboard and its alternative (i.e. QWERTY vs. Dvorak) is a very good example of lock-in and transition costs. Hitwise recent data shows that Google’s other services lag far behind its search market share, which indeed strengthens the point you are making (I wish they had some comparison with alternatives to Google’s online services).

But mostly, i agree with you that this would be a fascinating topic to look at. For example, it would be actually really interesting to see if tech-savyness of the users (or their digital literacy) play role in their search engine mobility. And as to the claim of Google search quality, i wonder if the fact that Google has so much information about our online behavior makes its results more relevant/good/accurate for a specific user.

Just a few thoughts… :)

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