I suspect that Google is going to blow it by getting political to a greater and greater extent. They are successful now because they are seen as a neutral party that helps with all things. But I don't think they are going to be able to resist the temptation to try to use their successful position to start pushing the standard Idiot Lefty line. At that point, they will sacrifice the characteristic of univeriality which is the only reason they were successful in the first place.
If Google is still a major player in five years, I will be very surprised.
I suspect that Google is going to blow it by getting political to a greater and greater extent. They are successful now because they are seen as a neutral party
they haven't been neutral since Bush won in 2000
"I don't think they are going to be able to resist the temptation to try to use their successful position to start pushing the standard Idiot Lefty line."
What even scarier is that, as the primary research tool most people use anymore, they actually have the ability to influence thought, by controlling what hits they return to a given query.