4 ms·

What's the difference between this and Google offering YouTube or Analytics for free (and at a loss) for years? What's the difference to SaaS companies never tu

by throwaway_20357 4y ago

What's the difference between this and Google offering YouTube or Analytics for free (and at a loss) for years? What's the difference to SaaS companies never turning a profit and operating at a loss for their whole life?

tedivm 4y ago
Analytics is a special case because the metrics they got from it can be fed into their advertising system to better deliver ads. They may have run it "at a loss" but they did it for data that they certainly made a profit off of.
mikeryan 4y ago
Google's a publicly traded company which is profitable in other areas. Search can carry the load financially while they achieve market dominance in other areas. This model is based on removing public market forces on a company while the company bleeds money in order to achieve dominance. W/R/T other SaaS companies doing the same, SaaS startups exit strategies include acquisition that D2C business don't really have. Who's going to be big enough or see enough value in buying Uber/WeWork/Doordash to augment their current offerings? Amazon can't buy them all at the peak of their valuation.
Vinnl 4y ago
You could indeed make the same argument about those products, it seems to me? We might've had much better alternatives to those products if they hadn't.
- retcore 4y ago
  German law forbade the "sale" or combined sale of any good at zero cost, even carrier bags until the turn of this century. Coincidentally or not, they have the Mittelstand high technology SME sector and, until the beginning of this century, a high wage low inequality economy.
  - zo1 4y ago
    But also have regulation that identifies businesses which have "arguably" predatory business models. Just because you don't charge money for something, doesn't mean you are offering something for free whilst at the same time operating on a investment type ponzi/pyramid-like scheme that relies on user numbers and ad-eyeballs increasing. As much as I'm an absolute free-market capitalist advocate, we need to all get it into our heads that it only works in an absolutely free market that isn't propped up in some areas by regulation. As soon as we start fiddling, we have to make sure we fiddle in the right spots, otherwise we're just solidifying and promoting an unhealthy/unfair/predatory market.
deleted 4y ago
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TrackerFF 4y ago
Predatory pricing is a very real component of monopolization, and can thus result in antitrust inquiries. Tech companies DO get involved in these lawsuits from time to time.
weberer 4y ago
There is no difference. That should also be stopped. Though good luck with the millions Google spends on lobbyists according to Opensecrets.

tedivm 4y ago

Analytics is a special case because the metrics they got from it can be fed into their advertising system to better deliver ads. They may have run it "at a loss" but they did it for data that they certainly made a profit off of.

mikeryan 4y ago

Google's a publicly traded company which is profitable in other areas. Search can carry the load financially while they achieve market dominance in other areas. This model is based on removing public market forces on a company while the company bleeds money in order to achieve dominance. W/R/T other SaaS companies doing the same, SaaS startups exit strategies include acquisition that D2C business don't really have. Who's going to be big enough or see enough value in buying Uber/WeWork/Doordash to augment their current offerings? Amazon can't buy them all at the peak of their valuation.

Vinnl 4y ago

You could indeed make the same argument about those products, it seems to me? We might've had much better alternatives to those products if they hadn't.

retcore 4y ago
German law forbade the "sale" or combined sale of any good at zero cost, even carrier bags until the turn of this century. Coincidentally or not, they have the Mittelstand high technology SME sector and, until the beginning of this century, a high wage low inequality economy.
- zo1 4y ago
  But also have regulation that identifies businesses which have "arguably" predatory business models. Just because you don't charge money for something, doesn't mean you are offering something for free whilst at the same time operating on a investment type ponzi/pyramid-like scheme that relies on user numbers and ad-eyeballs increasing. As much as I'm an absolute free-market capitalist advocate, we need to all get it into our heads that it only works in an absolutely free market that isn't propped up in some areas by regulation. As soon as we start fiddling, we have to make sure we fiddle in the right spots, otherwise we're just solidifying and promoting an unhealthy/unfair/predatory market.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

TrackerFF 4y ago

Predatory pricing is a very real component of monopolization, and can thus result in antitrust inquiries. Tech companies DO get involved in these lawsuits from time to time.

weberer 4y ago

There is no difference. That should also be stopped. Though good luck with the millions Google spends on lobbyists according to Opensecrets.