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Chrome OS doesn't ship with ads. Chrome OS only has ads because the internet has ads.

by Cowen 14y ago

CrankyPants 14y ago
Yeah, that's fair, but shipping with ads isn't the point. The point is to replace desktop apps that aren't capable of serving their ads or contributing to data that will improve their ability to monetize said ads. That, and to prevent someone else from doing the same. I agree that it's not a the most overt of plays, but for that matter, it's not like Android injects ads into the home screen. Google's smart enough to know they'll kill the goose that way. It makes the default search engine theirs, the browser theirs, location data theirs, any usage data–however aggregated and non-personally identifiable–theirs, encourages you to store your files with their cloud service (vs. doing it yourself or using someone else's who can't leverage it for ad revenue, e.g., SpiderOak's), and so on, all things that will drive up competitive CPCs and CPMs. It's about the land-grab that's going on right now, with the major players afraid of seeing the potential future balance of power shifting heavily to someone else, and with the downsides so high, they all want to get in while they can. Think of it as online advertising's own little cold war (but without the awesome fighter jets, spaceships, and submarines!). Nearly all of Google's revenues still come from ad dollars, and everything they're doing is to make sure they make progress on two fronts: expanding reach, and mitigating the fact that the growth of mobile is killing the revenue they could previously made from desktop activity. I had dinner with a Google exec last week, and he said to me, "the meme the made the rounds is right: we hate Facebook, but really only for what it's made us become. I miss the days when we all focused on search."
- Cowen 14y ago
  Oh, I completely agree. I was just standing up for Chrome OS. :) I love the products Google provides (disclosure: I've been a heavy user of Google products since GMail was invite-only) but I have no delusions that they're providing all of these products in part to drive people back through their advertising revenue stream.

Chrome OS doesn't ship with ads. Chrome OS only has ads because the internet has ads.

by Cowen 14y ago

Chrome OS doesn't ship with ads. Chrome OS only has ads because the internet has ads.

Yeah, that's fair, but shipping with ads isn't the point. The point is to replace desktop apps that aren't capable of serving their ads or contributing to data that will improve their ability to monetize said ads. That, and to prevent someone else from doing the same. I agree that it's not a the most overt of plays, but for that matter, it's not like Android injects ads into the home screen. Google's smart enough to know they'll kill the goose that way. It makes the default search engine theirs, the browser theirs, location data theirs, any usage data–however aggregated and non-personally identifiable–theirs, encourages you to store your files with their cloud service (vs. doing it yourself or using someone else's who can't leverage it for ad revenue, e.g., SpiderOak's), and so on, all things that will drive up competitive CPCs and CPMs. It's about the land-grab that's going on right now, with the major players afraid of seeing the potential future balance of power shifting heavily to someone else, and with the downsides so high, they all want to get in while they can. Think of it as online advertising's own little cold war (but without the awesome fighter jets, spaceships, and submarines!). Nearly all of Google's revenues still come from ad dollars, and everything they're doing is to make sure they make progress on two fronts: expanding reach, and mitigating the fact that the growth of mobile is killing the revenue they could previously made from desktop activity. I had dinner with a Google exec last week, and he said to me, "the meme the made the rounds is right: we hate Facebook, but really only for what it's made us become. I miss the days when we all focused on search."

Cowen 14y ago
Oh, I completely agree. I was just standing up for Chrome OS. :) I love the products Google provides (disclosure: I've been a heavy user of Google products since GMail was invite-only) but I have no delusions that they're providing all of these products in part to drive people back through their advertising revenue stream.