Google search used a couple of clever innovations -- the PageRank algorithm, and scaling via lots of small computers. But apart from that, isn't it almost the d

Google search used a couple of clever innovations -- the PageRank algorithm, and scaling via lots of small computers. But apart from that, isn't it almost the definition of incremental? You don't need a massive investment to make it work, just a couple of grad students with 10 PCs to make a proof of concept, then 100 PCs to make it better, then 500... Thinking about it, Google's key business trick has never been moonshots, it's been "throwing things against the wall to see what sticks". It's a wide approach (invest speculatively in lots of different ideas) rather than a deep one (bet heavily on a really long shot).