A number of comments on the web referencing Ross Sandler at RBC's view that Facebook could outpace Google and make the search engine 'reliant' on it:
Henry Blodget - Facebook could kill Google -according to RBC analyst
The analysis that Silicon Alley Insider makes in interpreting Sandler's commentary is flawed as it is not comparing apples with apples - particularly given that it suggests that Google 'gets' 19% of its traffic directed from Facebook - which is simply not the case.
My take is ... the referrals from Facebook to Google are not the correct
comparison - it is likely that many people simply:
(a) log on to Facebook as first move on the web to check friends
(b) then switch to Google to search for something to do with work or otherwise
and get on with day
The only interesting thing from this of strategic consequence is:
People go to Facebook then want to search for something.
IF Facebook did a deal with some search company that was anything like as
comprehensive as Google for general search and put that as a "Search
Web" bar on the next version of Facebook (probably next week based on
recent iteration speed) THEN that would be something interesting ...
Definitely that would take traffic away from Google which may be what you are
suggesting ... and would be interesting ... and Facebook would get a cut of ad
revenue on genuine referrals.
Who could they do that "search" deal with? Microsoft??
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