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> Let’s force Google to be like every other company in needing to constantly extract money from every project quarter by quarter. I think you're actually makin

by nardi 6y ago

> Let’s force Google to be like every other company in needing to constantly extract money from every project quarter by quarter. I think you're actually making the argument for breaking up Google. Their search monopoly is so powerful and so profitable, that they can afford to just throw money away on hundreds of terrible side projects.

Kiro 6y ago
> that they can afford to just throw money away on hundreds of terrible side projects How is that a problem? I'm glad we have companies that can afford to experiment.
MattGaiser 6y ago
Having lots of profit just means it is a good business. It doesn’t demonstrate that it is a monopoly nor that it is a harmful monopoly. There are plenty of other highly profitable areas of business. They just usually take their earnings instead of investing them in new things.
- kevingadd 6y ago
  "Having lots of profit just means it is a good business." Are you going to seriously argue that's the case? The companies that created the opioid crisis made a truckload of money off it. Health insurers make tons of money. For that matters, dealing illegal drugs is very very profitable and that's why crime syndicates are involved in it. So is selling weapons to the military, or generally involving yourself in foreign wars. Thankfully Google, Facebook etc have not had the kind of negative impact the opioid crisis has, but there's a proven record of negative impacts like the whatsapp lynchings.
  - MattGaiser 6y ago
    Yes I am going to argue that case. Profits alone do not indicate something evil. Evil things can be profitable, but the inverse is not necessarily true.
- nardi 6y ago
  In this thread, you have asserted: * Large profits don't make Google a monopoly * Large profits don't make Google evil However, no one in this thread asserted otherwise. On the other hand, above you assert that large profits alone are enough to qualify Google as a "good business." It's very easy to come up with historical examples of businesses that made lots of money, but which no one would describe as "good." Google is a monopoly, not because it makes lots of money, but because it is a monopoly. It captures the vast majority of internet search traffic.

by nardi 6y ago

Kiro 6y ago

> that they can afford to just throw money away on hundreds of terrible side projects How is that a problem? I'm glad we have companies that can afford to experiment.

MattGaiser 6y ago

Having lots of profit just means it is a good business. It doesn’t demonstrate that it is a monopoly nor that it is a harmful monopoly. There are plenty of other highly profitable areas of business. They just usually take their earnings instead of investing them in new things.

kevingadd 6y ago
"Having lots of profit just means it is a good business." Are you going to seriously argue that's the case? The companies that created the opioid crisis made a truckload of money off it. Health insurers make tons of money. For that matters, dealing illegal drugs is very very profitable and that's why crime syndicates are involved in it. So is selling weapons to the military, or generally involving yourself in foreign wars. Thankfully Google, Facebook etc have not had the kind of negative impact the opioid crisis has, but there's a proven record of negative impacts like the whatsapp lynchings.
- MattGaiser 6y ago
  Yes I am going to argue that case. Profits alone do not indicate something evil. Evil things can be profitable, but the inverse is not necessarily true.
nardi 6y ago
In this thread, you have asserted: * Large profits don't make Google a monopoly * Large profits don't make Google evil However, no one in this thread asserted otherwise. On the other hand, above you assert that large profits alone are enough to qualify Google as a "good business." It's very easy to come up with historical examples of businesses that made lots of money, but which no one would describe as "good." Google is a monopoly, not because it makes lots of money, but because it is a monopoly. It captures the vast majority of internet search traffic.