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People tend to like Google to keep to standards that would only make sense as a not for profit. Sure data portability is a good thing but when in specific insta
by robryan 16y ago
People tend to like Google to keep to standards that would only make sense as a not for profit. Sure data portability is a good thing but when in specific instances your helping your competitor without them giving up anything it doesn't make sense.
I doubt shareholders would really want Google to sit back and give up the game on social.
- joe_the_user 16y agoNot me, I want Google to be the bare-knuckles, no-holds-barred, take-no-prisoners winner - for good. In this case, it seems like they are currently doing the right thing. Demanding reciprocity is the right thing for data portability. It's like the GPL is more restrictive license than the BSD license - and the best license for software freedom.
- rbarooah 16y agoPeople only hold Google to those standards because Google positions themselves as a champion of openness and user's rights. As you point out, these standards may not be entirely realistic for a for-profit company operating in a very competitive space. Google therefore must either take the risk that their standards will actually make them into a stronger company, or gradually compromise them for competitive advantage. The problem with the compromise approach is that it undermines trust even more than if they'd never held themselves to such high standards in the first place, and that's where the backlash comes from.
- cma 16y agoMicrosoft took a different approach in the 90's and ended up shackled by governments; I'm not so sure Google's shareholders would ignore that in their profitability calculations regarding the different approaches.