Googling & fear?!?!

This New York times articles that I got from a fellow nomader wonders if there is anyone that should not fear google, who's current and future offerings could affect businesses from etate agents, to retailers, to telecomms companies..

"Google is the realization of everything that we thought the Internet was going to be about but really wasn't until Google," said David B. Yoffie, a professor at Harvard Business School.

Google, the reigning giant of Web search, could extend its economic reach in the next few years as more people get high-speed Internet service and cell phones become full-fledged search tools, according to analysts. And ever-smarter software, they say, will cull and organize larger and larger digital storehouses of news, images, real estate listings and traffic reports, delivering results that are more like the advice of a trusted human expert.

The fact that Wal-mart is scared is probably because they know they don't offer the best deals. So, with all this technology I guess the consumer wins in the end. And Wal-mart was responsible for shutting a few businesses themselves, so now it is their turn to be "fit" enough to survive.

But its freakin' inspiring - what Google - one, single company is doing! Every now-n-then they keep coming out with something innovative and excellent!

Plus, I was never a big fan of real estate agents, and other such middle men; and reading Freakonomics has only reaffirmed my faith in the belief.