Google's Stealthy Seduction

Google is everywhere. At least, it is in David Carr's life. On Sunday, the New York Times media columnist described the slow, inexorable process by which he came to use Google for almost everything he does online. It started with search, of course, but soon metastasized to e-mail, calendars, Google Maps, subway navigation, and Google Reader for RSS feeds. Moreover, Google didn't accomplish this with an aggressive advertising and promotional campaign; it did it simply by being so damn good. Now, Carr is just a little worried that he's so dependent on the company that he can't imagine life without it. On the other hand, he says, "If Google owns me, it's probably because I am in favor of what works."

Now, Google is reportedly planning to dominate Internet browsing itself. Chrome, the company's much-mocked browser, is scheduled to work out the kinks and come out of beta stage by January, and according to the Times Online, Google is considering the possibility of pre-installing it on personal computers. Such a move would signal a new, aggressive challenge to Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which currently controls 71.3 percent of the market. Internet Explorer will still be a tough nut to crack, since it already comes pre-installed with Windows and customers tend to use the first app they see. But as ZDNet's Sam Diaz points out, Chrome will probably benefit from Google's strategy of integrating every feature it offers with one another, allowing its e-mail, calendar, and RSS functions to "talk" to each other and make using them, rather than the competitors, ever more convenient. The browser wars, it seems, may start again.