A couple of stories this week point out chinks in Google's armor as the leading search engine and ad network. First, Forrester Research put out a press release that addresses the question "Where is Google Headed?" Charlene Li, principal analyst at Forrester predicts that Google will maintain its strong "position as a general search utility, [and] it will become the dominant pay-for-performance ad network..." The other story, from Business Week, recounts the recent hubbub about Google's removing an ad from the environmental group Oceana, which Google claims ran counter to its policy of "not accept[ing] advertising if the ad or site advocates against other individuals, groups, or organizations." Juxtaposing these two stories underscores how difficult it is to be in the number one position. In the Business Week article, John Palfrey from Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society fears that "Google can make choices about what people see and what they don't see, and how it's ordered. As more and more people use Google to access the Internet, that definitely raises some important policy questions." Li points to Google's strength in the pay-for-performance ad market and its popularity as a general search engine as the two areas in which Google will continue to have success. But, she points out that competitors will have the edge in securing greater share of the specialized search segment, that is searches of highly structured databases or other non-textual content, such as directories or catalogs. [Note that the same sentiment has already been expressed in the Shore Content eCommerce premium Weblog. ] One theme connecting these two stories relates to how critical it is for Google to focus on maintaining its position as the preferred starting-point for a majority of Web searchers. The BusinessWeek article provides a hint at how quickly Google could fall out of favor if they don't provide the links to what people most want to see. The Forrester piece implies that since Google can't be the best search engine for all purposes, they should focus on becoming the dominant ad network, which is a far easier task if they maintain their position as the most extensive and most-used general search engine--with the associated traffic, ad inventory, and participating Web sites. In order to maintain that focus, Google will have to turn away some opportunities that detract from or conflict with their primary mission.