4 ms·

> Google achieved market dominance in large part due to its decision to hire and compensate very talented people very well. They built an advertising empire. T

> Google achieved market dominance in large part due to its decision to hire and compensate very talented people very well. They built an advertising empire. They have gmail. And android had no real competition. But over hiring and throwing mud at a wall to see what sticks hasn’t worked out to very much in the last 10 years…

rendall 4y ago
Sorry, I don't see how the last part of your statement, even if true, relates to the quote. They built an advertising empire, yes? By compensating people very well.
- moomoo11 4y ago
  Except it’s at risk now. Ad spending is down. And if MSFT can enhance bing search with GPT to give you actual answers instead of ad based links that usually suck (how many times have you seen HN posts complaining about the drop in google search result quality?) then Google’s core competency is at huge risk. Windows is still the dominant player when it comes to consumer desktop. End of the day it’s the consumers who make Google spin by visiting google.com from whatever browser they use. If MSFT can knee cap them on search result quality that actually gives you an answer instead of a link… I mean think about it. Why would you use google to be linked to SO when bing can just tell you the answer and also provide source.. and don’t get me started on atrocious recipe websites. Personally? I like GCP. It’s way better to use than AWS imo. I’d rather google focus on empowering developers and technology. Ads were cool and can still remain a solid part of their revenue. But if they can grow GCP and various dx things like Go, workspace, and firebase as well.
  - Sakos 4y ago
    Sorry, Microsoft has never really been able to deliver on anything, particularly consumer-facing. They're heavily reliant on enterprise and Office. What makes you think they'll be able to successfully combine Bing with GPT?
    - moomoo11 4y ago
      I’m just suggest a hypothetical that’s in my mind. Execution is always a 50/50 game. If there’s one chance to beat google at their game (95% or whatever domination in ad space) it’s now. I’m just suggesting one use case now that msft and open ai are together.
  - ipaddr 4y ago
    Most people use google to get to a site. That might be facebook or this site. Google can provide summary answers but you often want to dive in and get details on an actual site.
    - moomoo11 4y ago
      Right. But imagine you could get your answer AND be taken to the source. Right now google search takes you to a site (that pays for ad) that MIGHT have your answer. I don’t want to cycle through five useless SO posts. I just want the answer.
fooker 4y ago
>And android had no real competition. Other than the elephant in the room which Google has to pay billions once in a while to be the default search engine on non-android phones. Certainly something Google would be doing if Android had no real competition.
bbor 4y ago
I’d argue chrome, android, gmail, maps, drive, and Chromebook OS are pretty dominant in their respective markets, and objectively these products defined the future of their industries many times by popularizing features that went on to become mandatory for competitors. A lot of these started before 2013, sure, but I think it would be hard to say any of those products have been stagnant, and I think most SWEs recognize how hard it is to maintain and update such huge products. Additionally, they’ve definitely met wall street’s expectations, with profit and stock price growing steadily for many of the last 10 years, which is what these jokers care about. All of this is, of course, on top of the part we take for granted: they still completely dominate search and defended their total control over many parts of the Display ads industry. My point isn’t that they’re necessarily geniuses, but I think your bias against giant evil multinational corporations (which I share!) is clouding your judgement. I’d say they control the internet more than any other company, and the internet is the home of the modern economy.
- spullara 4y ago
  But only Search/Adsense is a great business? Youtube might be one, one day?
- philliphaydon 4y ago
  Oh absolutely they have other things that have done well. But for every 1 successful product they have like 10 failed. Hence my comment of throwing mud at the wall to see what sticks. I just think that we are giving them more credit than they deserve. Doesn't mean there aren't exceptionally talented people there. Can imagine some of the guys working on stadia would have been incredibly talented. But they killed it off, never even got to try it as it wasn't available in SG/TW.

rendall 4y ago

Sorry, I don't see how the last part of your statement, even if true, relates to the quote. They built an advertising empire, yes? By compensating people very well.

moomoo11 4y ago
Except it’s at risk now. Ad spending is down. And if MSFT can enhance bing search with GPT to give you actual answers instead of ad based links that usually suck (how many times have you seen HN posts complaining about the drop in google search result quality?) then Google’s core competency is at huge risk. Windows is still the dominant player when it comes to consumer desktop. End of the day it’s the consumers who make Google spin by visiting google.com from whatever browser they use. If MSFT can knee cap them on search result quality that actually gives you an answer instead of a link… I mean think about it. Why would you use google to be linked to SO when bing can just tell you the answer and also provide source.. and don’t get me started on atrocious recipe websites. Personally? I like GCP. It’s way better to use than AWS imo. I’d rather google focus on empowering developers and technology. Ads were cool and can still remain a solid part of their revenue. But if they can grow GCP and various dx things like Go, workspace, and firebase as well.
- Sakos 4y ago
  Sorry, Microsoft has never really been able to deliver on anything, particularly consumer-facing. They're heavily reliant on enterprise and Office. What makes you think they'll be able to successfully combine Bing with GPT?
  - moomoo11 4y ago
    I’m just suggest a hypothetical that’s in my mind. Execution is always a 50/50 game. If there’s one chance to beat google at their game (95% or whatever domination in ad space) it’s now. I’m just suggesting one use case now that msft and open ai are together.
- ipaddr 4y ago
  Most people use google to get to a site. That might be facebook or this site. Google can provide summary answers but you often want to dive in and get details on an actual site.
  - moomoo11 4y ago
    Right. But imagine you could get your answer AND be taken to the source. Right now google search takes you to a site (that pays for ad) that MIGHT have your answer. I don’t want to cycle through five useless SO posts. I just want the answer.

fooker 4y ago

>And android had no real competition. Other than the elephant in the room which Google has to pay billions once in a while to be the default search engine on non-android phones. Certainly something Google would be doing if Android had no real competition.

bbor 4y ago

I’d argue chrome, android, gmail, maps, drive, and Chromebook OS are pretty dominant in their respective markets, and objectively these products defined the future of their industries many times by popularizing features that went on to become mandatory for competitors. A lot of these started before 2013, sure, but I think it would be hard to say any of those products have been stagnant, and I think most SWEs recognize how hard it is to maintain and update such huge products. Additionally, they’ve definitely met wall street’s expectations, with profit and stock price growing steadily for many of the last 10 years, which is what these jokers care about. All of this is, of course, on top of the part we take for granted: they still completely dominate search and defended their total control over many parts of the Display ads industry. My point isn’t that they’re necessarily geniuses, but I think your bias against giant evil multinational corporations (which I share!) is clouding your judgement. I’d say they control the internet more than any other company, and the internet is the home of the modern economy.

spullara 4y ago
But only Search/Adsense is a great business? Youtube might be one, one day?
philliphaydon 4y ago
Oh absolutely they have other things that have done well. But for every 1 successful product they have like 10 failed. Hence my comment of throwing mud at the wall to see what sticks. I just think that we are giving them more credit than they deserve. Doesn't mean there aren't exceptionally talented people there. Can imagine some of the guys working on stadia would have been incredibly talented. But they killed it off, never even got to try it as it wasn't available in SG/TW.