The FINANCIAL — Google is the most popular search engine in Georgia according to a survey by The FINANCIAL.
The FINANCIAL — Google is the most popular search engine in Georgia according to a survey by The FINANCIAL.
From the 100 people between the ages of 18-40 surveyed, all said that they used Google to search for information. It beat all other methods of searching for information such as personal contacts and 09/08 phone service.
Google.com is now the number 1 most surfed webpage in Georgia according to Alexa.com, California based subsidiary company of Amazon which is known for its website ranking. Google has beat Facebook.com and Russian social networking Odnoklassniki.ru in Georgia.
Globally, Google.com is ranking as number 1 followed by Facebook.com, YouTube.com and Yahoo.com
“The popularity of Google is governed by its rich webpage database of, which cannot be said for the Georgian search system which represents a catalogue of links,” said Vano Tsertsvadze, IT Manager at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA).
“Google’s advantages are its innovative attitude and good marketing compared with other international search engines.
Google was the first to introduce effective methods of image searching. At present Google offers a wide spectrum of services including web-page translation, calendar and document upload, editing and activity sharing. Moreover Google integrates such popular systems as YouTube and Blogger,” added Tsertsvadze.
The people interviewed said that they use Google to search for local as well as foreign information. However, some said that they sometimes use Yellow Pages and 09 services to find out local information instead.
Out of those surveyed, 60% said that they use Google to search for information about their business partners. Only 22% said that they do not usually use Google to surf for information while the remaining 18% said that they only sometimes use Google to search.
Less of those interviewed said they search for private relations. Only 40% said that they surfed the net for information about individuals in Google, while 30% said that they have never searched for such information, and the remaining 30% have only sometimes searched for such information through Google.
“The popularity of the internet and the speed of information spread significantly decreases the competitiveness of other traditional information means. Today, the information on the internet is developing from global into universal – all the information incorporated in visual, sound or text means is uploaded in no time. Consequently, the printing of information has become almost unprofitable. Such printing materials aren’t competitive against the internet, as any change requires the change and reprinting of the entire material,” declared Tsertsvadze, GIPA.
“It can be said that 09 and similar information means will be facing the same difficulties. If they only include information about companies and establishments, soon the number of their companies will reduce.
It all depends on time – the more people have access to the internet the less customers 09 will have. Take the example of Tbilisi, where it can be said that the majority of corporate clients are not using 09, which we consider due to the high level of internet usage in Tbilisi’s establishments,” added Tsertsvadze, GIPA.
At 09 they do not see the internet as a substitute for their service.
“On average 10,000 customers are using the 09 service during 24 hours, moreover, 2,000-2,500 people are using the free services of the company,” declared Inga Kurtskhalia, Deputy Director of InfoGeorgia XXI, service centre 09.
The company employs 120 individuals to serve its clients 24 hourly.
According to Kurtskhalia, the most demanded types of information are location of organizations, the management teams of the companies, telephone numbers, weather forecasts, juridical telephone consulting, information of the National Agency of Public Registry, and information about sport.
The free service includes the phone numbers of Tbilisi hospitals, fire station service 01, patrol service 022, emergency service 03, gas breakdown service 04, the Church calendar and hot line for IDP.
The tariffs at 09 vary across the service provided. For physical individuals it is 0.97 GEL, while for juridical person (organizations) it is 1.3 GEL. Kurtskhalia says that while serving the organizations they pay VAT to the Government, from which 20% is returned back to the served company. The payment for juridical consultation and non-standard information is 1.5 GEL.
Information centre 09 still has high tariffs compared to the service 08, which has twice as low prices for calls. The prices at 08 information centres are 0.5 GEL for private individuals, 0.6 GEL for GSM operators, and 0.7 GEL for organizations. One of the strongest reasons for the internet’s substitution might be the high prices for the service, which provides accessible information about all companies, services and products provided by the companies as well as events held and different resort destinations and information about hotels.
“I would not agree with the statement that the tariffs are high. Taking in to consideration the present market conditions and our aim to perfect our information database we are purchasing information from competent organizations, and for perfection of the service we are implementing a high-tech IT system which is of a high price. Moreover 09 pays telecommunication operators 0.14 GEL for each incoming customer call,” declared Kurtskhalia.
The company pays 30% of its revenue to telecommunication operators on the basis of a service revenue agreement.
“We try to offer high-quality service to our clients. Quality and comfort is always more costly. Moreover, information centre 09 is not a monopolist on the information market, there are many alternative ways to receive information and customers have a wide spectrum of choice,” said Kurtskhalia.
“09 and similar information services will have to think of what type of information to sell, so as not to lose the battle against their powerful competitor – the internet. The best decision would be for 09 to follow the tendencies of the internet and use the advantages of the global service to achieve their goals,” said Tsertsvadze.
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