Google's Business Plan

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2011/tc20110211_680322_page_2.htm

The link above is to an article discussing a potential flaw in Google's business plan. The author, Jeffrey Rayport, argues that Google's horizontall search engine may not be as applicable in the future. What Rayport means by this is that internet users are finding more specialized, vertically integrated, sites to fulfill their searching needs. For example, websites such as Monster.com (job listings) or Travelocity.com (travel) have specialized purposes and allow internet users to bypass Google completely for a more specialized, complete search. Rayport also points out in his article that Google recognizes the potential for this to hurt earnings (solely generated through advertisements) and has responded. In mid-2010, Google placed a $700 million bid to buy a travel based software company that would put it in direct combination with Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia, etc.
I found this article to be a very interesting read and had not previously thought about the future of search engines in this way. I agree with Rayport. It is very important for Google to somehow become more vertically integrated as more and more websites are stealing potential Google users.