Okay, maybe that was a bit strong, so let me rephrase.
Many internet users have been frustrated that searches can produce unexpected results. Quality varies at search engines over time, but to find such things as Pokemon fan web sites and dissertations on the evils of free enterprise liberally sprinkled throughout a list of results, while the target of the search is buried three pages down, has been common.
An overview of the efforts made by some search engines to improve their relevancy results can be found at clickz: http://www.clickz.com/article/cz.1754.ht... If you feel really ambitious, there is an excellent treatise (mostly in plain language, albeit eye-glazing) at Purdue University: http://thorplus.lib.purdue.edu/%7Etechma...
Those other web sites do deserve a place on the internet. Part of the survival of the medium depends on those who use it regularly (which is about 50% of North Americans) feeling like they still have a place. Of course this is part of the problem. All of us, business owners included, became used to the word FREE, and a wholesale changeover to a fee-for-service system could actually bring it down.
Consumers will not participate in an internet that is more like an endless series of television commercials.
But let's face it. What we're all here to do is make some money. In the real world that generally means spending money first. And consumers need to be courted, coddled, and serviced if they are ever going to start opening their cyber-wallets and purchasing products and services.
One of the factors that will affect how much they are willing to do that is the degree to which they see businesses behaving seriously about their own interest in the internet. A domain name used to be enough, but since the venture capitalists have left the stage, the bar has moved much higher.
Portals like Yahoo, Excite, and a dozen others will increaingly depend on income from paid and pay-per-click listing. There is no other source of income than from business. And the survival of portals that all internet users visit to find web sites will depend on each member of the business community spending tiny amounts of money regularly to support them. There is more turbulence ahead, as a recent National Post article shows "Yahoo to shed 12% of workforce as revenue slides: http://www.nationalpost.com/tech/story.h... but the large portals will probably survive and become leaner, more responsive platforms than they have been.
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