In 2008 & 2009, Google only listed just two major competitors – Microsoft and Yahoo. And now in 2010, Google lists 10 major competitors starting from Microsoft, Yahoo on top of the list. This is not surprising, BUT the surprise is that, Apple actually was not listed on the chart. I’ve compiled a list of competitors that are giving Google a kick and push to be more innovative and much more competitive. Google is sitting in hot water, especially after it was charged for allowing advertisers to run scams on their search engine.
1. Facebook
Facebook and Google are two of the fastest growing and largest companies on the internet, and so far Facebook’s popularity has really helped Google to see an increased earnings share. Facebook is complementary and positive for Google so far, but that could change if /when social media such as FaceBook finds a business model and attract ad dollars from other online media.
On January 15, 2013, Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a feature to help its users search for people and places within the social network. This is the company’s first major attempt at a product launch since its May 2012 initial public offering.
The new feature – called the “graph search” refers to Facebook’s growing content, data and membership. The “social graph” – will allow users to sort through pictures, people, places and members’ interests to find the answers to their queries.
2. Cuil
Cui is a search engine developed by a team of ex-Googlers and other top notch people from institutions such as IBM and Altavista. Cuil which is said to be a Google killer was launched on 28th July, 2008 and is said to be the world’s largest search engine, indexing ten times as many pages as Microsoft and three times as many pages as Google.
3. Twitter
Twitter is also considered to be a Google killer, but there are just too many “bugs” to get worked out for this to be a Google killer, at least in the short term. However it is a great tool for SEO but is not worth anything without Google.
More and more companies are including Twitter strategy in their online marketing and SEO campaigns. Tweets allow companies to send marketing messages to an audience that is already interested in their products or services, so the chances are good that followers will take advantage of the sale or special offer. Some companies — especially retail stores — now offer deals specifically for their Twitter followers. Offering a deal on Twitter allows the company to track how many people take advantage of the offer.
Twitter is also good at creatinf a way for companies to interact with their fans and customers. Many companies are also actively engaging their customers with questions, polls and other conversation starters via tweets. This intimate way of communicating helps build brand loyalty and identity because customers feel closer to their favorite brands when they can ‘talk’ directly to them.
4. Yahoo
Yahoo is seen rolling out a series of changes to their search technology. On the usability side, this search engine helps users to perform the search query while educating them for getting relevant results. As far as the findability side is concerned, Yahoo is now offering Flickr integration, embedded video and other universal search result features which according to Yahoo’s Tim Mayer is the most significant change Yahoo has made to their search business.
5. Wolfram Alpha
It is in everyone’s minds whether Wolfram Alpha will supplant Google? Not in the short term. Google is synonymous to search, as Xerox is for copying. Wolfram appears to be a largely scientific endeavor, but with the right kind of innovation, promotion and funding, it could find an audience in the near future.
J. K .Rowling released the first book in the Harry Potter series in 1997 after being rejected by a number of publishing houses. Luckily for her, the books became hugely popular and made her richer than the Queen of England. The final book released in 2007 and was, needless to say, immensely successful.
Created by Danny Boyle, this movie has been adapted from the book written by Vikas Swarup. It revolves around an impoverished boy who gets the chance to become a contestant in “Who Wants to be a Millionire?” The movie took the world by storm and won over 7 Oscars and made about 377 million dollars.
Everybody is familiar with Facebook- most of us are addicted to it. When this social networking site was launched, it gained instant popularity. However, it was thought that it would die down and would soon be forgotten. It goes without saying that these people were wrong- facebook has proven itself and has made keeping in touch easier.
This public corporation in the United States of America controls and maintains a number of department stores. Walmart was declared to be the largest in terms of revenue in the world in 2008. Founded in 1962 by Sam Walton, this grocery retailer provides employment to thousands every year.
The Home Depot maintains over 2,000 retail stores in different parts of the United States and has its headquarters in Georgia. These retail stores stock up on products of construction and home improvement. In other words, it allows customers to indulge in DIY projects and therefore, save money.
This supermarket retail chain has been around since 1883 and was established by Bernard Henry Kroger. The Kroger Co. owns over 2,400 supermarkets and declared about 76 billion dollars in sales during 2008. Its headquarters are in Downtown Cincinnati and it owns mall jewellery stores, hypermarkets, convenience stores and department stores all over the United States.
Target Corporation is known all over the world as Target and was established in 1902 in Minnesota. Target has stores in every states of the United States except Vermont and is known as SuperTarget and Target Greatland as well. After Walmart, it is said to be the biggest and most well known discount retailer in the country.
Costco Wholesale Corporation is known throughout the United States as Costco and is said to be the largest in the country among the membership wholesale clubs that exist. In 2009, Costco was declared to be among the top 10 largest retailers in the world. In addition to that, it also holds the largest stocks of fine wine.
This robbery was carried out in December 2008 when out of four men, three were dressed like women entered a jewelry store and forced the working staff to rob it. They stole jewellery worth 108 million dollars.
Those diamonds that are uncut are made to go through a process that is carried out at the Antwerp Diamond Center. Leonardo Notarbartolo headed a gang which managed to empty out 123 deposit boxes out of 189. The gems they stole were worth 100 million dollars and were never found.
A group headed by Amil Dinsio robbed the United California Bank. They cleaned out the safe deposit vault and managed to remove about 30 million dollars. While this may not seem like too much after going through this list, fact is that this robbery took place in 1972 and this money will probably be worth over 100 million dollars today. Even though the details are not clear, one can safely say that it was a great robbery!
This diamond robbery is considered to be the largest of its kind as gems worth over 118 million dollars were stolen. While a majority of these robberies involved fantastic plans and remarkable execution, this one didn’t. Their basic plan was to smash, grab and run. Four men carried it out and several have been arrested on the grounds that they were associated with the crime.
In 1970, a terrorist group called PLO needed money so they decided to rob a number of banks and the most significant one was the British Bank of the Middle East. They stole gold, current and stocks worth over 25 million pounds which would be worth about 100 million dollars today.
This is located in Turkmenistan and is basically a crater which starting burning 35 years ago and has not stopped till date. It is 70 meters wide and was discovered in 1971. When it was found, scientists did not calculate the among of gas it held very accurately which is why it still continues to go up in flames. You may not be able to visit this but you can see it from a distance.
This is a tabletop mountain in Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil. One can go till the top with the help of a natural ramp that was formed years ago. If you do not wish to take the staircase, you should go back and take some rock climbing lessons for a few years before returning.
This crater is located in the United States and was created over 50000 years ago. It was a huge grassland at the time and was covered with camels and wooly mammoths. Fortunately, no humans were present which is why it continues to be as unique and beautiful as it is.
The Great Dune of Pyla is massive- it is about 100 meters in terms of height, 500 meters wide and about 3 kilometer in terms of length. It is steep and has turned into a forest over the years. The Great Dune of Pyla is very famous among those who like to indulge in adventure sports especially paragliding.
This is considered to be the weirdest and most unusual looking place on the planet. It is isolated because of which the vegetation found here is unlike anything you will ever see. One such tree is the Dragon’s Blood Tree which produces sap that is red in color. It is unnatural looking and so are the spiders and birds that reside here. If you decide to visit this place, be sure to take several photographs!
Warfarin is basically used to kill rats and mice. However, it is also found in such medicines that are helpful in preventing the formation of large blood clots. This medicine is very popular in North America as it is not only effective but also gets rid of the problem much faster than any other pill.
Cone snails can either be very large or medium-sized, depending on where they are found. These snails are predatory and quite sophisticated, as far as snails go. The snail releases its venom which contains neurotoxins. If a human gets stung by this snail, he will be in pain for a long time but studies show that the venom should replace morphine in the coming years because not only is it an effective pain-reliever but it is not addictive at all.
Wolfsbane is a flower which releases a deadly poison called nabee, bikh or bish. However, when it is used in medication, it has the ability to slow down the pulse and calm those suffering from heart palpitations. Not only that, but it can also get rid of laryngitis, quinsy, cold and asthma within a short period of time.
Digitalis is a flower which contains certain steroidal glycosides and is also known as Dead Man’s Bells. The plant is so poisonous that if you happen to nibble at it, you will die almost instantly. The interesting part is that the plant is used to make medicines that help to control very fast heart rate and atrial fibrillation.
The Copperhead is a patient snake which will wait for hours and trick its prey into thinking that it is harmless. Usually, it stays away from humans but if they happen to step on them by mistake, they will not hesitate to inject their venom into them. The venom contains something called Contortrostatin which has the ability to stop the growth rate of cancer cells.
This animal is definitely the tiniest most dangerous animal on Earth as it transmits malaria. This disease leads to about 3 million deaths on a yearly basis. These mosquitoes also transmit yellow fever and dengue.
Even though you may live to tell the tale after getting bitten by a bullet ant, it is an experience that you will never forget. The pain is excruciated and lass for 24 hours. There are certain rituals in some parts of the world wherein young boys are told to keep their hands in gloves that are filled with bullet ants as this marks their entry into adulthood.
Individually these ants are not dangerous but can be when they are found in swarms. They are native to Asia and Africa and tend to build anthills as they travel. These ants are dangerous because they can enter a person’s lungs and suffocate him to death. They will enter your house if you leave food uncovered for extended periods of time.
This spider’s venom could kill a human being almost instantly as it is not only effective but is secreted in large amounts. The females are bigger and are known to bite the male’s head off after the mating ritual is over.
Deathstalker belongs to the scorpion family and is dangerous becomes its venom is extremely poisonous. The irony is that the venom also has the ability to remove a tumor from the brain and fight against diabetes in human beings.
This road is often referred to as “the Ghost Road” because of the sheer volume of paranormal activity that has been experienced here. It is said to be the most haunted street in Scotland and people have frequently reported unexplained sightings.
This street is in Pennsylvania- Ohioville to be exact and is the centre of pretty bizarre happenings. According to legend, if any docile and peaceful animal is to enter the street, it will become violent almost instantly without any reason and start chasing anything in sight. People have said that they have heard strange noises coming from the forest that surrounds the street.
This street is in Clermont County and has lead to the death of many innocent people. In 1969, five out of six teenagers passed away after meeting with an accident. Rick, the survivor says that the street has ever since been haunted by a hitchhiker who does not have face.
There are a number of streets in this area including Bloodspoint Road, Flora Church, Poole, Cherry Valley, Irene, Wheeler, Pearl, Sweeney and Stone Quarry that are said to be haunted. According to legend, these streets have seen a number of suicides; train accidents and some were also the resting points of a powerful witch.
This street is in England and was built in 1989. Over the years, people have reported seeing children playing on the street very late into the night while a monk stands silently and watches them.
The four-engine turboprop aircraft is one of the few planes to remain in continuous production for more than 50 years with more than 2,300 aircrafts produced. Introduced into service in 1957, it has proved to be versatile and adaptable in various special roles. It can carry 20 tons of cargo within a range of 3,800 km and land in roughly levelled airstrips.
Simply known as ‘Dakota’, more than 10,000 of them were produced since 1935. It was used in special roles such as dropping agents in Occupied France, flying ‘The Hump’ from India to China and the airborne invasions in Normandy and Holland. It was also used extensively in the ‘Berlin Airlift’.
The German workhorse was the equivalent of the Allied C-47 during the war. Its tri-motor engines and corrugated metal skin, gave it some durability. But it lacked the capacity. It hauled supplies troops in all the campaigns including the invasion of Crete. It was the primary carrier for the airborne troops.
Introduced in 1974, it was supposed to become the mainstay of the Soviet airlifting capability. It could operate in harsh climates and from rough airstrips. It was the Soviet Hercules. It had a maximum payload of 47 tons with a range of 4,400 km. around 900 of them were built. It has been used as an AWAC platform with the designation of A-50 Shmel.
It is the prime US Strategic airlifter with a maximum payload of 120 tons over long distances. Introduced in 1970, over 130 were built. A $2billion overhaul was carried out in the 80’s to increase its capabilities. It has a larger cargo compartment than the Starlifter and is capable of carrying bulky cargoes such as three CH-46 helicopters. But it is plagued with high maintenance and fuel requirements.
Everybody is aware of the fact that Jesus received myrrh as a gift from the magi which is basically tree sap that is dried out. What people don’t know is that the first myrrh tree came into being because Myrrha was indulging in sexual activities with her father and once her father realized it, he tried to kill her. However, she escaped and was turned into a tree.
Every nativity set consist of Mary, Joseph and their baby Jesus. The family is often surrounded by animals, shepherds and other figures. In places like Italy and Spain, one figure will be that of the caganer who will be placed away from the manger and will be seen defecating.
Saint Nicholas, also known as Santa Claus, is known to have brought three children back to life. These children were staying with a butcher who murdered and pickled them. He then tried to serve the meat as pork but good old Santa came by and resuscitated the poor children. There are several paintings of Saint Nicolas wherein some children will be seen standing around in tubs- now you know why!
During 1659 to 1681, the holiday was not celebrated in Massachusetts and was banned. This is because it was believed that 25th December was not a day to be celebrated as God had not mentioned it in the Bible.
Knecht Rupercht is among the many companions of Saint Nicholas. He is known to punish those who have been bad by taking them to a forest in a sack and eating them. Another legend says that if you do not buy new clothes on Christmas, the Christmas Cat will come and eat you alive.
