3 ms·

Google didn't invent online ads, not even the auctioned ones. Also, their innovations in the online ad space were generally limited to their search-based ad bus

• pm90 8y ago
  Its technically true just like its true that they didn't invent online search. Their innovations (either in house or through acquisitions) have fundamentally changed the ad space as the GP mentions. And this is an ongoing process as well as more and more people move off the more mainstream media platforms.
• pimmen 8y ago
  No, but they had the user base, the data, the presence and the focus to do it better than the established ad companies. And now we're at the point where more than half of all digital ad revenue in some countries are pocketed by Facebook and Google.
• karmelapple 8y ago
  And Apple didn’t invent the smartphone, but they reimagined it in a way that basically made things 10X better in UX, just like buying ads on google is 10X better than the process described earlier.
  • acct1771 8y ago
    s/better/easier, to be safe
• yuhong 8y ago
  I mentioned some of the history, including the DoubleClick acquisition, in the essay.