zlacker

I don't like Google's grasp on so many vital parts of the web but somehow, it seems like google is actually in trouble.

AI is going to completely change search if it hasn't already, and google is not even close to compete in this space.

Video has some massive competition from the likes of TikTok. Anyway, YouTube isn't the only option on the market.

Gmail is still popular but since google has been pressuring users to pay, it's been easier than ever to find a reason to try another service.

Chromium can always be forked and have some parts removed or added, and as we all know quite a few browsers do this, some are quite popular.

Is google also losing IOS ads like Meta? If they do, that's another reason for alarm for them.

I'm not sure google is in the best position for the future and WEI is not going to be their golden ticket either.

And, if your prediction that web will change actually comes to pass, well then it'll be just another cycle for this space that has changed countless times since the age of dialup. The web is going to change, again and again, but as long as people are still free to set up a server and let the world access it, we can still do what we like with it.

>>magic_+(OP)
Except increasingly the world will access it via drm aware browsers because their banks require it, and the open web audience will subsequently dwindle.

The Halloween memos called this "Embrace, Extend, Extinguish". Google didn't just ignore the moves that provided M$ dominance.

>>magic_+(OP)
To paraphrase John Maynard Keynes: Google can stay irrational a lot longer than you or I can retain our freedoms. And when the precedents have been set, a new normal has been established, and when/if Google does finally fail, the next actor will step in and keep those freedoms from us all.