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Google might want to look at the history of Standard Oil and the old US wide singular Bell Telephone. If you get so big that you can abuse your power, you will

by Tistel 9y ago

Google might want to look at the history of Standard Oil and the old US wide singular Bell Telephone. If you get so big that you can abuse your power, you will probably start to do so (power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely ...). They tend to get broken up into less powerful pieces. How you break up Google, I don't know. They are an ad tech company with the best search engine and a bunch of money loosing ancillary activities.

ocdtrekkie 9y ago
If I had to take a quick pass: Search/Gmail/Drive, Android/Play, and Chrome. The largest monopolizing power Google has is it's control of platforms, which can drive it's services. Between setting up defaults to their own products and including tight integrations nobody else can match, this is Google's biggest advantage today. Chrome and Android also actually each have ways they could independently be monetized, Chrome via search placement auction like Firefox, Android via licensing from OEMs. Gmail and Drive and such predominantly need to be ad-funded to survive, I suspect, and I think allowing an online services company to run ads is fundamentally okay. The monopolizing power of losing Chrome and Android would over time relegate them to losing monopoly status by default.
frgtpsswrdlame 9y ago
Turn their platforms into utilities, take the other bits and scatter them into different companies.
quickben 9y ago
These are different times.
forapurpose 9y ago
> Google might want to look at the history of Standard Oil and the old US wide singular Bell Telephone. Those companies made their owners very, very wealthy, and the companies' decedents remain extremely wealthy and powerful. The CEO of one of the decedents, Exxon, is now the U.S. Secretary of State, for example. Google may think that's a very acceptable downside risk.
clarkmoody 9y ago
Market competition had greatly reduced Standard Oil's monopoly by the time the government broke it up...

by Tistel 9y ago

ocdtrekkie 9y ago

If I had to take a quick pass: Search/Gmail/Drive, Android/Play, and Chrome. The largest monopolizing power Google has is it's control of platforms, which can drive it's services. Between setting up defaults to their own products and including tight integrations nobody else can match, this is Google's biggest advantage today. Chrome and Android also actually each have ways they could independently be monetized, Chrome via search placement auction like Firefox, Android via licensing from OEMs. Gmail and Drive and such predominantly need to be ad-funded to survive, I suspect, and I think allowing an online services company to run ads is fundamentally okay. The monopolizing power of losing Chrome and Android would over time relegate them to losing monopoly status by default.

frgtpsswrdlame 9y ago

Turn their platforms into utilities, take the other bits and scatter them into different companies.

quickben 9y ago

These are different times.

forapurpose 9y ago

> Google might want to look at the history of Standard Oil and the old US wide singular Bell Telephone. Those companies made their owners very, very wealthy, and the companies' decedents remain extremely wealthy and powerful. The CEO of one of the decedents, Exxon, is now the U.S. Secretary of State, for example. Google may think that's a very acceptable downside risk.

clarkmoody 9y ago

Market competition had greatly reduced Standard Oil's monopoly by the time the government broke it up...