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# QOTD: getting in the flow
- URL: https://www.lorcandempsey.net/qotd-getting-in-the-flow/
- Published: 2007-01-07T17:08:27.000Z
- Updated: 2020-10-28T09:37:45.000Z
- Author: Lorcan Dempsey
- Tags: Systems, UX

Niall Kennedy argues that ‘search is not a zero switch cost’. Even if a strong competitor emerges for Google they will have to do quite a bit of work given the steps Google has taken to embed itself in various user flows:

> Google is spending billions to integrate its search products into the Apple operating system, new Dell PCs, MySpace, Firefox, and more. Google [commands about a 50% share of the U.S. toolbar search market according to comScore](https://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1006&ref=lorcandempsey.net). Google powers search on sites with lots of pages such as newspaper, university, and personal websites. [A developer platform](https://code.google.com/apis.html?ref=lorcandempsey.net) further diversifies these sources of traffic, turning the long tail of search origination into site revenue. \[[Search is not a zero cost switch](https://www.niallkennedy.com/blog/archives/2007/01/search-not-zero-cost-switch.html?ref=lorcandempsey.net#comments)\]

I think that this is an interesting observation in itself. It also makes me think about service categories. I have been writing about ‘getting into the flow’ and ‘disclosure’ from a library point of view for a while. Increasingly, I think that libraries will recognize that this is a category of service which needs to be resourced, in staff, systems and other ways.  
Related entries:

- [Distributing the library catalog experience](https://blog.oclc.org/lorcand/archives/001174.html?ref=lorcandempsey.net)
- [Discovery and disclosure](https://blog.oclc.org/lorcand/archives/001084.html?ref=lorcandempsey.net)
- [Boffyflow and spike](https://blog.oclc.org/lorcand/archives/001213.html?ref=lorcandempsey.net)
- [Traffic flow](https://blog.oclc.org/lorcand/archives/001182.html?ref=lorcandempsey.net)
- [In the flow](https://blog.oclc.org/lorcand/archives/000688.html?ref=lorcandempsey.net)