Scenario 1: In search for Information dominance (Circa 2008)

In search of Information dominance

Everyone by now has heard Google's success story. Whether a friend has mentioned it to you or you have read it on weblogs, web atricles or did a case study regarding this topic, it is all known to us.

2005-2006 Combining the best of industries

As we all know Google offers its services for free through their portal website. Applications such as Google Video, Earth, Images, Froogle, GMail and search engine has already attracted a lot of users who are in search of useful tools without paying licensing fees. Most of these tools has been launched by emphasizing that it is still in its "beta" stage. Beta means that an application is "mostly working" but not yet finalized and therefore still under construction and still being tested for bugs.

When we look at the current list of applications that can be found on the Internet , there is a lot of choice. Websites such as zdnet.com, tucows.com and download.com all offer a listing of applications that are shareware or freeware but when it comes down to functionality all the applications do the same. From my point of view, Google has copied their ideas to incorporate their own applications into their website but they have two advantages. First, they have lowered their threshold towards their applications by presenting it clear, free of advertisements and ease of installing. Secondly, they offer their services for free and for anyone who wants to have a go with it. Most users are very pleased by the functionality and are willing to use it more often.

In 2006 Google will roll out many more (web)applications, already a book search has been launched and also a Questions and Answers web application. By this Google is attracting a base of enthuastic beta testers.

2006-2007 Finalizing the Beta

After attracting so many users who are thrilled to work with the free-of-charge applications, the Google Management decides it is time to exit the beta stage and announces that applications are ready for commercial usage. Since the introduction of services such as Gmail (With over a billion active users worldwide) Google decides to ask for a small contribution of one single buck. By introducing the "Buck (Book) your way to information" strategy, Google slightly forces its loyal users to contribute to their new direction. Since most Google applications have been linked towards a gmail account and have been used for archiving, e-mailing purposes most customers are willing to pay the one dollar to keep their account active.