The future of internet search

That is beginning to change.  Even as the online world has turned its attention from searching to social networking, search is getting interesting again.  Consider the development of online search in the broadest terms.  First came Yahoo!, with its carefully cultivated (by human editors) catalogue of interesting web pages.  Then along came Google, with co-founder Larry Page's innovative ranking of Web pages not just by their content, but also by the quantity and quality of other pages that link to them.

Social networking brings a new insight.  People are likely to buy what their friends recommend, which is why marketers should spend time on social networks and join the conversation, rather than interrupt it with traditional advertising.