3 ms·

Is Google at Risk of Becoming the Next Microsoft?

16 points by abraham 16y ago

Jun8 16y ago
Another recent doom and gloom piece about Google. I think they've dropped (or dropping) the ball on some fronts but, don't write them off yet! Let's make the analogy more clear: What does it mean to become the "next Microsoft". MS's profit per employee is awesome (http://www.interknowledgetech.com/profit%20per%20employee.pdf http://www.interknowledgetech.com/profit%20per%20employee.pd...) and they still control a number of cash cows. They pulled off Bing quite nicely. They're totally clueless in the consumer mobile space but just ask how many enterprise mobility customers use Android (pretty much none, but could change in the near future). One of the biggest markers he points out is the fact that Google is no longer the place where the "in crowd", the best of the best want to work. This is indeed similar to how MS lost its similar coveted position to Google some years ago. This is troublesome, but is not by itself reason to short Google, at least for the next 5 years at least. The culture point he makes, I think, is more important: If everybody in a group starts to think alike, it's not good for the group, irregardless of what culture prevails. AFAIK, Google has a radical democracy approach to project management determined by peers, as opposed to the leader with a vision approach of Apple. This is good but needs to be reigned in a bit. IN short, I think the big G can use some master strategizing of its many projects.
- itjitj 16y ago
  So where do the "best of the best" want to work now?
TotlolRon 16y ago
Is apple at risk of becoming the next orange? These analogies don't even make a good headline anymore. Google is at an extreme risk of staying Google in a world that will not tolerate that any more. This by itself is enough trouble. Leave MS alone.
mixmax 16y ago
"They argued that growing nascent mobile revenues will take significant time, especially since there aren’t many sizable acquisition targets available in mobile after Google’s purchase of AdMob." If you're about to venture into the exciting world of startups and don't know what you should build this sentence would be a good starting point.
adelevie 16y ago
DuckDuckGo is at risk of becoming the next Google.
- switch 16y ago
  Yup. +1 to that.
DavidSJ 16y ago
How much things have changed, where "becoming the next Microsoft" is seen as an undesirable outcome.

16 points by abraham 16y ago

Jun8 16y ago

Another recent doom and gloom piece about Google. I think they've dropped (or dropping) the ball on some fronts but, don't write them off yet! Let's make the analogy more clear: What does it mean to become the "next Microsoft". MS's profit per employee is awesome (http://www.interknowledgetech.com/profit%20per%20employee.pdf http://www.interknowledgetech.com/profit%20per%20employee.pd...) and they still control a number of cash cows. They pulled off Bing quite nicely. They're totally clueless in the consumer mobile space but just ask how many enterprise mobility customers use Android (pretty much none, but could change in the near future). One of the biggest markers he points out is the fact that Google is no longer the place where the "in crowd", the best of the best want to work. This is indeed similar to how MS lost its similar coveted position to Google some years ago. This is troublesome, but is not by itself reason to short Google, at least for the next 5 years at least. The culture point he makes, I think, is more important: If everybody in a group starts to think alike, it's not good for the group, irregardless of what culture prevails. AFAIK, Google has a radical democracy approach to project management determined by peers, as opposed to the leader with a vision approach of Apple. This is good but needs to be reigned in a bit. IN short, I think the big G can use some master strategizing of its many projects.

itjitj 16y ago
So where do the "best of the best" want to work now?

TotlolRon 16y ago

Is apple at risk of becoming the next orange? These analogies don't even make a good headline anymore. Google is at an extreme risk of staying Google in a world that will not tolerate that any more. This by itself is enough trouble. Leave MS alone.

mixmax 16y ago

"They argued that growing nascent mobile revenues will take significant time, especially since there aren’t many sizable acquisition targets available in mobile after Google’s purchase of AdMob." If you're about to venture into the exciting world of startups and don't know what you should build this sentence would be a good starting point.

adelevie 16y ago

DuckDuckGo is at risk of becoming the next Google.

switch 16y ago
Yup. +1 to that.

DavidSJ 16y ago

How much things have changed, where "becoming the next Microsoft" is seen as an undesirable outcome.