You could argue that Google is using a barbell strategy. Play it safe with the core business (search has hardly changed in all these years, just a few minute la

You could argue that Google is using a barbell strategy. Play it safe with the core business (search has hardly changed in all these years, just a few minute layout changes and algorithm tweaks. The biggest change, real-time results from Twitter, was rolled back. They have also been very aggressive about protecting search from threats/substitutes, hence vast sums spent on Android and Chrome to protect the visibility of their search ads), then have lots of small-scale dabbling in diverse, blue-sky projects.