What? How do "apps" answer "search"? (What do you think powers Siri, and keep in mind that a Google competitor to Siri is expected within 2012).
Further, if "free texting" and "Instagram" are what is going to keep Facebook afloat... well I hope for their sake, you're wrong. I can tell you from the app and mobile web experience alone, no one I know has ever used Facebook messaging as a replacement for SMS. Plus there are a dozen dedicated services that fill that role better (Google Voice included no less).
Apps answer search in several ways. If I want information ona restaurant I don't google it - I launch the Yelp app. Instead of using Gmail (where they display ads to me) I use a native app (Sparrow) which Google makes no revenue from afaik. I have specific apps that provide news to me rather than using search to find stories. Instead of comparison pricing on Google Shopping I will use the Amazon and eBay apps.
Nearly everyone I know uses Facebook Messaging instead of texting. They still use texting but too but more and more and relying on Facebook Messaging (I think this is because Facebook has a dedicated iOS messaging app which is much better than the full Facebook app). Their may be dedicated services that fill the role better but 'everyone' is on Facebook (And Google Voice is US only).
I probably didn't explain the Instagram thing properly. Facebook is become (maybe it already is) the photo sharing platform of choice. You can already share privately with friends & family very easily (from where ever you are thanks to smartphones). Now that they own Instagram they also have a great system for allowing people to share photos publicly too. This will help people stay on Facebook - if they don't they lose access to thousands of photos they have uploaded and the many more they are tagged in.
I agree. Plus I don't trust (unlike some other commenters) reviews on Amazon, so I Google for several reviews and trust the consensus of all sources. Google search is very much alive.
I think Google search will die instantly if anyone ever gets a vastly superior search product. I used to use Yahoo! in 75% of my searches mixed with others on the 25%, then along came Google and I found I could get my answers faster on 99.9% of my searches. If Yelp+Siri+Wolfram+whatever turns out to be a much better way, then goodbye Google. But I think Google is really good at building technologies, they have a lot of smart people, and they won't let someone get away with supplanting their search engine without giving it serious competition, which Yahoo! was unable to do. Google is trying to take over Yelp, they are competing with Siri, they even try to compete with Facebook. Maybe eventually they'll die, but they aren't letting anyone get the huge jump on them that they got on Yahoo!.
Further, if "free texting" and "Instagram" are what is going to keep Facebook afloat... well I hope for their sake, you're wrong. I can tell you from the app and mobile web experience alone, no one I know has ever used Facebook messaging as a replacement for SMS. Plus there are a dozen dedicated services that fill that role better (Google Voice included no less).