What's missing from this is an "arms length relationship" - Google is making so much from ads that they're able to swamp entire industries with offhand choices.

What's missing from this is an "arms length relationship" - Google is making so much from ads that they're able to swamp entire industries with offhand choices. I would very much like Google to experiment with new technologies and services (translate, flights, etc.) but I wish they'd spin them out as separate services and have them pay for placement in search results or fight it out for SEO placement. As it stands they can launch mediocre products that do well as the new products get "free" premium placement.