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> But "Google is an advertising company" hasn't really been true, in terms of corporate strategy, since Larry took over. Strategy is aspirational; revenue and
by fredkbloggs 11y ago
> But "Google is an advertising company" hasn't really been true, in terms of corporate strategy, since Larry took over.
Strategy is aspirational; revenue and profits are reality. Google is an advertising company. Larry may aspire to be the Emperor of San Francisco and Protector of Mexico, and there's little to prevent him telling people that he already is, but that does nothing to change the fact that he's really the CEO of an advertising company in Mountain View.
- dasil003 11y agoThis is such a reductionist Wall Street perspective. Money is just what keeps the lights on, but it says nothing about the impact on the world. Google's impact is not just advertising, arguably the most notable impacts are the utility of its search, and Android as the only credible competitor to iPhone keeping Apple on its game. While it's true that none of that is sustainable without the advertising business, that only matters at the point that business is failing.
- gress 11y agoThe focus on costs indicates precisely the concern about the ongoing strength of the advertising business.
- dasil003 11y agoWait, where did I say that there were no concerns about the business? I was responding to a comment that literally said "profits are reality" as a way of dismissing all the interesting things that Google does which are not directly profitable.