5 ms·

Few things need addressing here: - Google is the one that needs to survive Facebook. Not the other way around. Right now Facebook has the more compelling adver

Few things need addressing here: - Google is the one that needs to survive Facebook. Not the other way around. Right now Facebook has the more compelling advertising platform that they are only starting to use (see: mobile). If companies do start moving money across it could do some immediate damage to Google's bottom line. - Google Maps is going to have a rocky road ahead if Apple does plan to release iMaps for iOS 6. And given the talent Apple acquired it could be something special. - Google+ will never be the default on iPhone. Twitter is. Facebook will be. The problem for Google is that they have made enemies of Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo, Twitter and Facebook. Not a good situation to be in.

intended 15y ago
> The problem for Google is that they have made enemies of Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo, Twitter and Facebook. Not a good situation to be in. This is in essence their current strategic problem.
- fpgeek 15y ago
  With the exception of Twitter (which Google tried to buy), I think all of these companies are their natural enemies. Apple is a natural enemy of Google for the exact same reason Microsoft is - they don't want to see their products commoditized by web apps. The Apple/Google alliance was unnatural and only lasted as long as their common enemy did. Meanwhile, Yahoo and Facebook offer core services that broadly overlap with Google's (even pre-Google+). Both are competing for the same advertisers' dollars. And Facebook's deep social graph has been identified as a threat to Google's search for a long time.
  - intended 15y ago
    They are mutual competitors - no doubt/debate about that. But in purely strategic terms, you cannot have a battle on all fronts, and hope to win unless you have some deus ex machina / strong advantage you can use. An alliance at this time, will reduce their fronts, and immediately put their competitors in a fix. Its probably one of the more better strategic moves to make.
bad_user 15y ago
Google is the one that needs to survive Facebook In this industry, that's not how it works. Smaller companies must survive the bigger ones, not the other way around. Google survived Microsoft, but that didn't kill Microsoft, which is doing just fine. Microsoft survived IBM, but that didn't kill IBM, which is doing just fine. The problem smaller companies face is that bigger companies get benefits by (1) being in the market for a longer time + (2) having their products integrated to work well with each other + (3) having more resources + (4) having the ability to push new products down the throats of their customers. The one weakness of such a big company is the Inventor's Dilemma. Microsoft survived IBM by making hardware a commodity, making IBM obsolete from their viewpoint. Google survived Microsoft in the same way, by relying on the web, which made Windows irrelevant from their viewpoint. Google Maps is going to have a rocky road ahead if Apple does plan to release iMaps for iOS 6 Google Maps is still going to be the default on every other phone. It's also a solid product that's hard to beat. Will iMaps have turn-by-turn navigation? And when will iMaps have maps for Europe, including Eastern Europe? If iMaps will not be at least as good as GMaps is, then Apple will have a problem, because Android will be perceived to have the better app. Google+ will never be the default on iPhone. Twitter is. Facebook will be It will be the default on Android, and say what you will about it, but it is more popular than the iPhone. The problem for Google is that they have made enemies of Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo, Twitter and Facebook I agree. Google+ was a stupid move. However, I don't see how Google is more of a threat to Apple than Microsoft is. I also see Facebook being more of a threat for Twitter, than Google is. The enemy of my enemy doesn't seem to apply so well here.

intended 15y ago

> The problem for Google is that they have made enemies of Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo, Twitter and Facebook. Not a good situation to be in. This is in essence their current strategic problem.

fpgeek 15y ago
With the exception of Twitter (which Google tried to buy), I think all of these companies are their natural enemies. Apple is a natural enemy of Google for the exact same reason Microsoft is - they don't want to see their products commoditized by web apps. The Apple/Google alliance was unnatural and only lasted as long as their common enemy did. Meanwhile, Yahoo and Facebook offer core services that broadly overlap with Google's (even pre-Google+). Both are competing for the same advertisers' dollars. And Facebook's deep social graph has been identified as a threat to Google's search for a long time.
- intended 15y ago
  They are mutual competitors - no doubt/debate about that. But in purely strategic terms, you cannot have a battle on all fronts, and hope to win unless you have some deus ex machina / strong advantage you can use. An alliance at this time, will reduce their fronts, and immediately put their competitors in a fix. Its probably one of the more better strategic moves to make.

bad_user 15y ago

Google is the one that needs to survive Facebook In this industry, that's not how it works. Smaller companies must survive the bigger ones, not the other way around. Google survived Microsoft, but that didn't kill Microsoft, which is doing just fine. Microsoft survived IBM, but that didn't kill IBM, which is doing just fine. The problem smaller companies face is that bigger companies get benefits by (1) being in the market for a longer time + (2) having their products integrated to work well with each other + (3) having more resources + (4) having the ability to push new products down the throats of their customers. The one weakness of such a big company is the Inventor's Dilemma. Microsoft survived IBM by making hardware a commodity, making IBM obsolete from their viewpoint. Google survived Microsoft in the same way, by relying on the web, which made Windows irrelevant from their viewpoint. Google Maps is going to have a rocky road ahead if Apple does plan to release iMaps for iOS 6 Google Maps is still going to be the default on every other phone. It's also a solid product that's hard to beat. Will iMaps have turn-by-turn navigation? And when will iMaps have maps for Europe, including Eastern Europe? If iMaps will not be at least as good as GMaps is, then Apple will have a problem, because Android will be perceived to have the better app. Google+ will never be the default on iPhone. Twitter is. Facebook will be It will be the default on Android, and say what you will about it, but it is more popular than the iPhone. The problem for Google is that they have made enemies of Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo, Twitter and Facebook I agree. Google+ was a stupid move. However, I don't see how Google is more of a threat to Apple than Microsoft is. I also see Facebook being more of a threat for Twitter, than Google is. The enemy of my enemy doesn't seem to apply so well here.