They taught us in economics that companies have to specialize and build core competencies. They need to do things really well, and be the best possible in the domains they have chosen. But today, while that philosophy remains, it has been well degraded especially in the digital technology space.
For technology companies, everyone is doing everything, even at top-level. Alphabet, Google parent company, is a car company, a search company, a medical company, an advertising juggernaut, etc. Amazon is an e-commerce firm, a publisher, a movie producer, a drone maker, etc. Meta, the parent of Facebook, has just upped the scale with search: “In a push to enter the highly competitive digital search market, Meta Platforms is working on an artificial intelligence-based search engine as it looks to reduce dependence on Alphabet’s Google and Microsoft’s Bing, the Information reported on Monday.”
Sure, I am not saying that Google could start making cement or running waste disposal, my point is this: in tech, once you build the foundational stack, every other thing on top of it becomes easier. In other words, the first core stack is the real issue, and once that is settled, the gloves are off, and you can battle in anything possible in tech. This also explains the nature of emerging competition; it is both frontal and flank-based, meaning that your competitor may not even be part of your industry association.
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Does Facebook’s Meta Search need to be as good as Google Search to thrive? Not really. You just need to keep your digital tribe and prevent them from leaving your ecosystem because for most people, they will be fine if fairly decent products are in one place than go around looking for disparate ecosystems.
Meta Is Working on AI-based Search Engine Amid DOJ’s Push to Break Up Google’s Monopoly
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