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What's the difference between this and Google's "monopoly" on search, which is again based on a superior product (You could argue the same about Facebook, but a
by the_watcher 7y ago
What's the difference between this and Google's "monopoly" on search, which is again based on a superior product (You could argue the same about Facebook, but at least in the search case, there's no network effects tying people to using Google).
- myoon 7y agoThis isn't comprehensive, but no one has really talked about Excel being unfairly leveraged to prevent the entry of competitors, gain an unfair advantage in unrelated markets, or exploit its consumers. Now Google may not have done any of the above with search, but it's likely possible to argue that they have unfairly promoted their own products over others, or "unfairly" chose to not list certain websites.
- bduerst 7y agoGoogle doesn't have a monopoly on search - the supply for search engines has many equally accessible competitors supplying the market. FB has a monopolistic-power in the network effects like you said, but even then entrants like Snapchat show that the network effects can be gained for new competitors.
- partiallypro 7y agoBecause Google removes consumer choice and forces vendors to play ball with its search platform on Android devices. Microsoft does not make you use Excel on Windows, iOS or Android. Google can cripple your entire company or industry by cutting APIs. You can't do that in Windows, even if Microsoft bans you from volume licensing, you can still install Windows on virtually any machine.