Wow, a valuation of several billion? What a joke. They have no revenue stream, they're just giving away search for free. I don't see how this startup could ever be successful.
But I don't see the problem with that. Software companies that want to change the world have to be free, at least initially. If somebody wants to swing for the fences, I don't think anybody should stop them. It's not the business model I would choose, but I certainly admire those that do.
Why? I can think of plenty of software companies that changed the world with a paid product (Oracle, Microsoft, etc.)
But back to the original article, all I have to say is that Google sure has changed a lot since those early days. ;)
Even in 1998, Google provided a lot more value to users than Twitter ever will.
As I've said before, my money is on Facebook. People my age use it like it's the Internet. To them, that's all there is. And they click its ads.
What makes you think they click ads? I've heard the opposite.
Their ads are also a lot better than they were a year ago. They target more effectively, within reason. (My ads are screwy since I list no information about myself, but they used to try and sell me Arrested Development t-shirts and they almost succeeded on multiple occasions.)