It's worth pointing out that Google wasn't really moonshot stuff. It was a search engine, and there were other search engines. already. Then it became an adve

It's worth pointing out that Google wasn't really moonshot stuff. It was a search engine, and there were other search engines. already. Then it became an advertising network before IPO, to make the $$. There were other ad networks already. The key thing is that they were able to invest heavily in infrastructure to do... big stuff... for many years before IPO. Like, boatloads of fiber, data centres, expensive employees, R&D. That money also let them make a superior UX that didn't dump crap in your face, which then acquired customers. I kind of wonder if the time might be ripe for new social networks to replace Facebook, Twitter, etc. that would be to existing "social media" what Google was to Yahoo or AltaVista or Lycos. Not garbage. Not in the way. Seemingly (for a time) ethical. User focused. Working with some new metaphors. Moderated. Civil. Facebook used to be a place to connect with friends and family. A thing that took the place of MySpace, Friendster, etc. and rapidly blew up because it was a way to get a hold of people and stay connected. Now it's ... something else. (I won't waste time here explaining why it is hot garbage now). I just don't know how that makes money without taking the same crappy path that FB did. But, Google also didn't know how it was going to make money.