Google has monopolized the Internet search market, but according to experts, the blockchain will become a catalyst for global changes in the spheres of influence of the largest technology company of the 21st century and will completely change the world dominated by Google.
About Google/ Google
Google was founded in 1998 by Larry page and Sergey Brin to organize the world's information, ensuring its accessibility and use for all. Today, the company and its subsidiaries are part of Alphabet holding, which is engaged in management, as well as investing in the development of Internet search, cloud computing and advertising technologies. In 2017, Alphabet became the world's largest holding in terms of market capitalization, amounting to more than $645 billion.
For 20 years of existence of Google under the leadership of the company there was a huge number of the Internet services, tools and products which take top positions among competitors: search engine, the Chrome browser, postal service Gmail, mobile operating system Android, video hosting service YouTube, social network Google+, cloud services of storage, and also services of contextual advertizing of AdWords and AdSense. But the development and mass adaptation of the blockchain can significantly affect the activities of Google, especially in areas such as search services, advertising and video hosting.
The blockchain and the Google search engine
Most often, users prefer to search for Google, as a result, today the company owns ¾ of the market share — 74.52%. The dominant position of Google is largely associated with the development of the network effect of Big Data and artificial intelligence in conjunction with the power of user habits.
Search engines such as Google constantly collect and update information about the user, which is used not only to promote and improve our products and services of the company, but sold to representatives of the advertising and marketing industry. This aspect often leads to criticism from members of the tech community, who accuse Google of violating the integrity of personal information, copyright and censorship, as well as the destruction of the concept of absolute confidentiality.
Decentralized browser and blockchain search engine will be able to solve the problems of protection of users 'personal information in the following way: the search engine will analyze users' data and their preferences in order to give more accurate results, without transferring them to third parties. And users of such systems will be able to fully control access to their personal data and selectively share information about themselves and their search queries.
Moreover, such search engines will form the basis of a new decentralized Internet network or Web 3.0, which will distribute high-quality content and services created by users of the network. Projects in Web 3.0 responsible for communications, publishing, searching and storing data will be built on technologies supported by individuals rather than a single Corporation.
Today, the stock market already presents a decentralized search platform in the framework of projects such as Bitclave and Presearch. Both projects in 2017 held successful ICOS in support of their platforms. Moreover, ICO decentralized ecosystem Bitclave for a record 32 seconds. raised $25.5 million.
Blockchain and advertising services of Google
Google together with Facebook occupies a top position in the field of digital advertising, controlling 84% of the market. Most of the profits Google receives from advertising. So, last year, 70.9% of the company's revenue was received from AdWords and AdSense advertising services.
However, it is the advertising activities of Google that cause the greatest fears not only among representatives of the technical community, but also regulators from different countries. In June 2017, the European Commission imposed a record fine of €2.42 billion on the company, accusing the company of abusing the dominant position in the market. According to a 7-year investigation by the European Commission, Google violated antitrust laws by systematically placing its own and partner resources in privileged positions in search engines.
The use of blockchain and decentralized search engines in the first place will help to protect information of users. At the same time, users will be able to decide what information to provide advertisers in exchange for cryptocurrencies, thereby directly selling their own search queries or personal information. In turn, the company will pay directly to a user for viewing the advertising content, and not a third party, which is now Google.
Blockchain is also beneficial for advertisers themselves. Thus, companies will be able to solve the problem of advertising inefficiency. In 2017, more than $209 billion was spent worldwide on digital advertising, of which $6.5 billion was spent on content viewed by bots. Using blockchain, advertisers will get a transparent network in which all transactions are easy to track, and thereby make sure that the advertising content reached the consumer.
The creation of a decentralized advertising platform is already being worked on by such platforms as AdChain, AdEX, MadHive, MetaX, Papyrus and Truth, which offer advertisers a new format for digital advertising.
Youtube blockchain and video hosting
Founded in 2005, Youtube was purchased by Google in 2006 for $1.65 billion. Thanks to its ease of use, YouTube has become the most popular video hosting and the second site in the world in terms of number of visitors. Every minute about 100 hours of video content is uploaded to the site from around the world, and every month it is visited by more than 1 billion people.
Google does not provide detailed data on YouTube's current expenses and revenues. According to a 2015 credit Suisse study, Youtube and Google Play brought in about 15% of Google's revenue, and by 2020 this figure will reach 24%.
Youtube provides a platform for hosting of video content to earn money from advertising. As for content creators, they have only a percentage of the total revenue generated from Youtube ads. So, starting from February 20 this year, to make content profitable for its creators, it is necessary that the channel had at least 1,000 subscribers and at least 4,000 views over the past 12 months. This means that not all content creators will get at least some profit. Also, according to experts ' analysis, the average CPM (cost per 1000 views) varies from $0.50 to $5.00. This means that for every million views content creators receive from $ 500 to $ 5000.
Blockchain-based video hosting platforms will create a more profitable ecosystem. On such platforms, content creators profit from the number of views directly from advertisers. And users receive cryptocurrencies for views, and the higher their activity, the more compensation.
The stock market already presents such a platform for sharing how SteemQ, Viewly and Dubtokens.