• Wired, Thursday, March 2, 2006 10:17 AM

It will be a tall order indeed for Microsoft to unseat Google as the top Internet search destination. MSN Search has less than a third of the search volume of the industry leader, and according to a Wired report, Google's users are so hard-wired into using its Web search they have to consciously try not to use the search engine just to see what another one is like. Shari Thurow spends so much time using Google she makes a point of observing a "Google-free day." On Saturdays, she has a rule that she can use any search engine but Google--a practice she finds difficulty maintaining. "What happens is you get stuck in a rut," she says. According to the latest Nielsen/NetRatings figures, Google's lead is growing, forcing competing companies like Yahoo and MSN to come up with any means of stealing a bit of spotlight and market share away from the seemingly immovable object. Both companies are weighing site makeovers, specialized features, even awards programs and prize giveaways for users willing to crossover. Microsoft, once again, is reverting to mind games, predicting that Google will no longer be as relevant in six months. At the end of the day, it could just be that Google is so hard-wired into all of our brains that the thought of crossing over just doesn't make sense. Momentum is a nearly impossible thing to gauge, but history tells us it runs out eventually. But as of right now, Google is its own verb, it's got a cool logo, a cool revenue stream and these days, it's every move is big technology news. Don't hold your breath on Microsoft taking over in six months.

Read the whole story at Wired »