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It wouldn't be as easy as breaking up Ma Bell into regional carriers vs long distance because the internet doesn't follow geographical boundaries. It could mak

by byoung2 17y ago

It wouldn't be as easy as breaking up Ma Bell into regional carriers vs long distance because the internet doesn't follow geographical boundaries. It could make sense in some respects to split Google into different companies based on verticals like search, email, apps, mobile, advertising, payments, and enterprise, but even then there aren't clear divisions. Would Gmail, as a separate company, have to license Google Search technology for inbox searches? And register as an AdSense publisher? How would Google Search broker a deal to be the primary search engine on Android phones produced by Google Mobile? And would Google Checkout be able to integrate with the app store?

theBobMcCormick 17y ago
That might be problematic. I was under the impression that most of those "verticals" don't actually make a profit. Adsense is the primary revenue engine for the whole company. More importantly, it seems a little pre-mature to talk about anti-trust action against Google when they are facing pretty robust competition for pretty much every one of those verticals.
- agentultra 17y ago
  It's just frustrating that they're constantly entering every vertical. They don't completely dominate and eliminate the competition (in most areas), but they are building an impressive portfolio of acquisitions. Probably not an anti-trust case... but it's going to be something. And we'll figure out the laws and legislations necessary to regulate it when it happens. Until then I will remain shamelessly paranoid of the company.
  - yanw 17y ago
    What's wrong with it entering 'every vertical'? If they have something to offer it's only good for consumers as they introduce choice by adding a new player to that vertical, it's still a free market. Paranoia alone isn't a solid ground for antitrust allegations.
- byoung2 17y ago
  You're absolutely right, without ad revenue, those other verticals would probably stagnate. And Google needs all those verticals to feed into a central repository so Google can achieve it's ultimate goal of indexing and archiving all of the world's content. Search for the web, Gmail for our email, YouTube for our video, Google Voice for our voicemail, etc.

by byoung2 17y ago

theBobMcCormick 17y ago

That might be problematic. I was under the impression that most of those "verticals" don't actually make a profit. Adsense is the primary revenue engine for the whole company. More importantly, it seems a little pre-mature to talk about anti-trust action against Google when they are facing pretty robust competition for pretty much every one of those verticals.

agentultra 17y ago
It's just frustrating that they're constantly entering every vertical. They don't completely dominate and eliminate the competition (in most areas), but they are building an impressive portfolio of acquisitions. Probably not an anti-trust case... but it's going to be something. And we'll figure out the laws and legislations necessary to regulate it when it happens. Until then I will remain shamelessly paranoid of the company.
- yanw 17y ago
  What's wrong with it entering 'every vertical'? If they have something to offer it's only good for consumers as they introduce choice by adding a new player to that vertical, it's still a free market. Paranoia alone isn't a solid ground for antitrust allegations.
byoung2 17y ago
You're absolutely right, without ad revenue, those other verticals would probably stagnate. And Google needs all those verticals to feed into a central repository so Google can achieve it's ultimate goal of indexing and archiving all of the world's content. Search for the web, Gmail for our email, YouTube for our video, Google Voice for our voicemail, etc.