Search predictions for 2006

John Battelle: “Microsoft will gain five points of search share, at least. But… Vista will launch, and its much anticipated and feared desktop search integration will be viewed as anemic. The whisper as to why? Fear of the DOJ….”

I think John is jumping the gun here, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have this same concern. A watered-down Vista is the last thing that we need (or consumers want). As Scoble points out, the dynamics may be shifting with the recent Google/AOL deal. I hope that customers in 2006 see Microsoft as the legitimate alternative for web-based services (it already is) in comparison to Google. We shall see.