Google: 800 pounds and counting.

I wonder how Olympic swimmers who had to compete against Michael Phelps felt? Years of training and preparation just to watch the ’08 Games Golden Boy feat.

It must be the same feeling for search engine newcomers like Cuil or Wikia.

Cuil launched over a month ago to much hype, and less than positive reviews. So how’s it going today? Writer Dan Nystedt of IDG News Service says Cuil has .0070 percent market share in the Internet search business. By contrast, Google® has over 70 percent.

However, Sam Diaz writing in ZDNet says that “nibbling” might be a better approach compared to a full frontal attack on Google. Death by a thousand digital cuts.

Ultimately consumers always need a compelling reason to switch away from something they’re familiar with.

Just a few years ago people asked, “Do you Yahoo?” Since then Google has become both a noun and a verb, and the first choice in search engines for most people.

As social networking grows in popularity around the world, some search engines might think less about market share, and more about niche opportunities. Less indeed, could really be more.

It’s all about choice, and there is plenty of it out there on Web 2.0.

That’s good news for all of us.

-John
John W. Scherer
John is CEO & Founder of Video Professor, Inc.
You can reach him at ceo@videoprofessor.com