Mobile and search

"John Lilly, a venture capitalist at Greylock Partners, said the real prize in mobile search was “whoever figures out what questions people really want to ask their phones while they are walking around, and how they will ask those questions.” That is “very unlikely to look like it did five years ago, when you typed it into a box,” he said."

The current era of mobile-based internet only really started with the arrival of the iPhone (and followed by Android, Windows Phone, Firefox OS, etc.) meaning it's only 7-odd years old. 

"And they have spent five years building products like the Knowledge Graph, which responds to queries with answers. That adds power to tools like voice search and produces instant results that smartphone users appreciate because if the answer is right, they can just glance at their phone and move on, without having to click anything.

In June, Mr. Singhal’s group also introduced Now on Tap, an ambitious project that will be available on Android-based phones that will embed search inside features like text messages and apps. That lets people search more easily on mobile — just do a long tap on the home screen button — without having to cut and paste words or type into a search box.

“My job is not to just look at the trend today. My job is to look at what’s beyond the horizon,” Mr. Singhal said in the interview. “And beyond the horizon, there is so much more people can do on their devices that is not possible today.”"

Interesting watch Google who absolutely dominated the desktop mobile Internet in search now having to re-adjust to the mobile world. Great article on the New York Times.

They're obviously moving in the right direction: 

"Kordestani also said that the average mobile viewing session on YouTube now lasts more than 40 minutes, and added that mobile viewing alone attracts more 18-49 year-olds in the U.S. than any cable network. The number of channels than earn a six-figure income on YouTube is up 50 percent year-over-year, according to Kordestani."

Source: Variety

What is interesting to see is the new ideas and solutions for revenue

Indeed, Google has been amping up its mobile advertising efforts to address these challenges, touting new products such as a “buy button,” which allows people to shop directly within Google products on mobile, as well as mobile-friendly YouTube ads and elaborate, conversion-friendly search results for things like hotels and cars.

Google CFO Ruth Porat said the company is continuing to narrow the gap between mobile and desktop search.

The Innovators Dilemma (as described by Clay Christensen is something that Google looks to be actively avoiding (any company that has fire alarms, self-driving cars and computers in eye in glasses is aptly demonstrating that!):

Christensen's book suggests that successful companies can put too much emphasis on customers' current needs, and fail to adopt new technology or business models that will meet their customers' unstated or future needs. He argues that such companies will eventually fall behind. Christensen calls the anticipation of future needs "disruptive innovation," and gives examples involving the personal computer industry, milkshakes, and steel minimills.