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I'm 100% right there with you. But the inner pessimist in me isn't holding my breath. Said new company would perhaps start with an excellent and wholesome mis

I'm 100% right there with you. But the inner pessimist in me isn't holding my breath. Said new company would perhaps start with an excellent and wholesome mission statement, make some great products and then take on funding, need to experience exponential growth, maybe have an IPO, and eventually betray it's users in the quest for "maximizing shareholder value" and providing a "better user experience". If it can happen to Google it can happen to anyone... Also, can I even buy a sound bar for my TV that doesn't listen to me and need an internet connection these days... It's unreal the unneeded complexity and bullshit they put in some electronics. The real heroes the world needs are just independent founders that use slow growth over several generations and never sell the business, thus minimizing incentives other than having a lifestyle business and making great stuff. But the money is just too tempting eventually, or the business just isn't feasible at that scale.

scarface74 7y ago
Google was never “wholesome”. Their business model from day one was to collect user information and sell ads.
- derefr 7y ago
  For the first few years of its life, Google (nee BackRub) was a business-model-less company that just ran a search indexer. They looked like they were heading toward the Inktomi model of selling their compiled search-index (or access to their index data warehouse) to companies to use. Google Ads came later, and was honestly quite a shock to everyone who was telling their friends that Google is an unalloyed good as the new AltaVista.
  - scarface74 7y ago
    Google was incorporated in September 1998. AdWords was introduced in October 2000. They were an ad company from almost day one as a business.
    - derefr 7y ago
      Sure, but Google was a search engine since 1996. They only incorporated once they figured out a potential business model. Until then they were “a company” in the sense of being founders working together on an idea with the goal of monetizing it; but, since they had nothing to sell yet, no brand, and no salaries to pay, they didn’t bother to wrap a legal company around the “company in their hearts.”
    - krsrhe 7y ago
      2 years is Day 1? AdWords itself didn't even collect user data.
      - scarface74 7y ago
        If they introduced ads 2 years after their incorporation. How long were they working on it?
    - eitland 7y ago
      But there's still a difference I think. IIRC, and I'm quite confident about this particular one, ads used to be served based on the site you were visiting or the search had typed. Some people hate all ads. For me I felt old google ads were OK. Some people will say this isn't a good enough business model and to that I'll point out that google was widely profitable back then as well, again IIRC.
      - scarface74 7y ago
        Google ads on desktops on Google’s site aren’t that bad. But, because of limited real estate, almost all ads on mobile devices are bad. Web page ads on other sites have gotten so annoying that the web is horrible without an ad blocker. Strangely enough, ads in feeds like Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter don’t annoy me as much. I also think the ads in the iOS App Store are horrible.

scarface74 7y ago

Google was never “wholesome”. Their business model from day one was to collect user information and sell ads.

derefr 7y ago
For the first few years of its life, Google (nee BackRub) was a business-model-less company that just ran a search indexer. They looked like they were heading toward the Inktomi model of selling their compiled search-index (or access to their index data warehouse) to companies to use. Google Ads came later, and was honestly quite a shock to everyone who was telling their friends that Google is an unalloyed good as the new AltaVista.
- scarface74 7y ago
  Google was incorporated in September 1998. AdWords was introduced in October 2000. They were an ad company from almost day one as a business.
  - derefr 7y ago
    Sure, but Google was a search engine since 1996. They only incorporated once they figured out a potential business model. Until then they were “a company” in the sense of being founders working together on an idea with the goal of monetizing it; but, since they had nothing to sell yet, no brand, and no salaries to pay, they didn’t bother to wrap a legal company around the “company in their hearts.”
  - krsrhe 7y ago
    2 years is Day 1? AdWords itself didn't even collect user data.
    - scarface74 7y ago
      If they introduced ads 2 years after their incorporation. How long were they working on it?
  - eitland 7y ago
    But there's still a difference I think. IIRC, and I'm quite confident about this particular one, ads used to be served based on the site you were visiting or the search had typed. Some people hate all ads. For me I felt old google ads were OK. Some people will say this isn't a good enough business model and to that I'll point out that google was widely profitable back then as well, again IIRC.
    - scarface74 7y ago
      Google ads on desktops on Google’s site aren’t that bad. But, because of limited real estate, almost all ads on mobile devices are bad. Web page ads on other sites have gotten so annoying that the web is horrible without an ad blocker. Strangely enough, ads in feeds like Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter don’t annoy me as much. I also think the ads in the iOS App Store are horrible.