THE COOLNESS WITH SIMPLICITY OF Google had forced its competitors - which used to be the leading players on Internet - to adopt the Google style; as the world is now addicted to it. Take Yahoo Search or MSN search, they are following what Google innovated years ago. It proves Google's domination on even webpage interfaces and rings danger bells for its competitors. The interesting thing is that Yahoo and Microsoft Network (commonly known as MSN) followed a style for a long time that included congested web pages, so much on a single page and poor navigation especially incase of Microsoft's MSN.com.

'Everyone is going the Google way' said Muhammad Imran - a web analyst working for a dot com company in Karachi. Yahoo is adding more attraction to it's products and now even using separate web addresses for them, for example flickr.com - he further added. Flickr.com is a product by Yahoo that enables its users to keep an online archive of photographs and let others see, rate and comment them. It gives a very good way of categorizing photographs as one can search and get relevant photographs posted by Internet users form all parts of globe.

Yahoo kept on introducing Yahoo Maps, Yahoo My Web, Yahoo 360 and so many other products during the year 2005. It seems that Yahoo and MSN are working hard to find a cure for every product Google offers. Yahoo's 360 is a blogging solution that not just satisfies the current needs of Internet users but also says “Yahoo can blog too!” to Google which acquired Blogger.com in 2003 and has integrated it with its search and Adwords (the source of revenue for Google).

Microsoft on the other hand is doing the same by introducing product over product. Microsoft's MSN has also started its blogging service with the name of 'MSN Spaces'. The company already has many other products which are being promoted widely to cope with Google's growing acceptance as the only online hangout place.

Although the acquisitions spree isn't new specially to Microsoft which acquired it's most famous online product 'Hotmail' in 1997, the trend has gained momentum in 2005. It seems to be a cold war on Internet and the quote 'Survival of the best' fits on the current competition scenario.

Companies like Ebay are looking for products which can add value to their online presence. Ebay recently surprised the Internet gurus by acquiring Skype - the VoIP king. Google's entry into the Instant Messaging (IM) market is also an eye opener for MSN and Yahoo. 'I doubt Google might start manufacturing hardware' feared a marketing manager of leading hardware firm. Google is actually entering into every field that is even 1% linked to Information Technology. Google is eyeing aggressively to the VoIP market now and who knows what it brings to us in coming months.

Google has become a trendsetter on Internet and every new company is following the Google style while planning navigation, content and even language. Yahoo and MSN have also started using semi-formal language which Google introduced years ago on its website. This slang way of presenting content and attracting visitors has helped a lot in attracting youngsters and newcomers on Internet. 'Google is casual and I like it' declares Maria Khan who keeps Google.com as her homepage and loves to browse Internet through Google.

For some Google is addiction and for some it is a useful resource. Some use it for comfort; others have no other choice when it comes to search something over Internet. Call it anything; it is a successful reality which is now teaching its competitors what to do and how to do.

The writer is a Software Engineering student at Bahria University, Islamabad with special interest in E-Commerce and Internet based products.
He can be reached at adil@itinsight.info.