Mobile search will die? BAT said no!

In 2010, Chris Anderson, Wired magazine, shouted for the first time: "Web is dead." ”

It seems to be proof that LinkedIn, the famous American social networking site, has transformed Web-based mobile apps into app based mobile apps, and Facebook's founder, Zuckerberg, admits that "focusing on HTML5 is the biggest mistake he's ever made", There are even reports that Apple's apps downloads are up to 50 billion.

Web is dead? So where do web-based mobile searches go?

In 2012, Zhang Lei, founder of the Innovation Workshop dessert OS, wrote that "This is an era in which app is the main carrier, and Web pages are not the mainstream of the market at all." He explained that the popular use of mobile phone services include "call" "Text" "on Micro bo" "read the novel" "Gun Micro-letter" "to comment on" "Map" "Play games" "under the Application" ... But search may not even be the first ten, all kinds of app to divert. and the application of information flow is an isolated island, the search for information on the basis of the link is being eroded, broken ...

Admittedly, in previous years, Anderson's argument was like a virus that had moved the search "infected". Because at that time few people believe that in the era of app-dominated, web-based mobile search can be contrarian.

Until 2014, as BAT's "beaches", mobile search began to "come to the Daylight"-

April 28, 2014, Alibaba combined with UC excellent (after the two sides integration) launched God horse Search; May 8, Tencent shares of Sogou official release mobile search app, June 9, the release of micro-letter search function; In the same year, Baidu continued to increase mobile search propaganda, especially for its independent search app mobile Baidu , marketing public relations level is very obvious.

It seems to be a joint counterattack by bat for the "mobile Search Damned" theory.

What causes bat to "agree"?

1 Web Undead, browser immortality

Back to Anderson's argument, does the Web really die? Let's answer this question from four levels:

First, the browser itself is a super app that can be downloaded from the App Store and is one of the most versatile apps in the world. Second, for users, the cost and risk of opening a Web page is much less than installing an application. Again, the implementation of the HTML5 standard will greatly enhance the functionality and expressiveness of the web,

At the same time, Web apps based on browsers have emerged. Finally, the biggest attraction of Web sites is the ability to connect with the world. As early as 2011, as founder of scripting News, Dave Winner (Dave Winer) wrote in his blog:

If you put every app installed on the ipad or iphone into reality, they should be a tall building, you might think it's huge, but they can't exchange or connect to the outside world, which is too bad!

Obviously, in some practical sense, the Web does not die, the browser eternal life. Therefore, web-based mobile search does not die naturally.

2 app is just "streaming", not "intercepting"

Zhang Lei believes that the user's search needs are all kinds of app to divert. Indeed, in recent years, with the popularity of smartphones, more and more apps are starting to "settle in" to our phones. In addition to micro-letters, microblogging, QQ, maps, group buying these tools app, content-type app is also more and more, such as the daily newspaper, Watercress moment, today's headlines ... There is no doubt that these apps will certainly create a "diversion" of user needs.

But will "diversion" mean "river closure"?

Not。 App lets users reduce the number of times they use mobile search, but doesn't allow users to move the search. Because the user's demand for mobile search is instantaneous and fragmented, most apps are vertical and fixed. For example, the news client, his news source is only his own channel, a lot of no cooperation with the media news, we can not see. But search is not the same, it is open source, most of the content can be retrieved. Therefore, the closed app content will not fully meet the needs of users, this time, the user's mobile search requirements remain.

3 Mobile search market is getting bigger

The popularity of smart machines, many people are seeing more and more apps, but overlooked one of the most obvious phenomenon-mobile internet users more and more.

This is like a piece of cake, the former functional machine era, mobile internet users very little, and the Internet time is also short, while most of the time of mobile internet users are used in mobile search and browser, but after all, cake small, the market is certainly small. Now not the same, more and more mobile phone users, mobile phone access to the Internet more and more long, this time, the cake is much bigger than before, although mobile search accounted for not before the high, but the cake is much more than before.

4 Search is the most effective business model for the Internet to become present

This, Baidu's success on the PC side has been proved. So, there will be 360 in 12 strong push search, and Baidu mortal war. If not because search is the easiest to cash out, I believe Zhou will not easily challenge Baidu.

However, because Baidu's first advantage, search from the PC side and Baidu split the world, it is difficult. But on the mobile side, as the previous analysis, the incremental market for search is huge. So, Alibaba, Tencent want to search this a beach, mobile end is very realistic cut mouth.

Therefore, for companies outside Baidu, mobile search "or a piece of fat."

Of course, this time, it is also the opportunity of other Internet companies. Because mobile search is already a new track, even if you are a start-up company, you are in the same starting line as the Giants. And there are new users, and they have a lot of new requirements. These requirements, traditional PC manufacturers are not necessarily able to understand and well satisfied. But the entrepreneur is not the same, you can stand in a purely mobile perspective, thinking about a new user experience, to build a healthier and better business model.