Yahoo Boss Advises Google in a Mom Way

May 1, 2010

The Google is not perfect. The company is about to take a major punch in the nose in the LaLa land of digital content. Google awakens each morning to more legal busy work, the now routine privacy security grousing, and the escalating howls of joy from Facebook users who look at charts like this one: http://siteanalytics.compete.com/facebook.com+google.com/.

Now, according to the BBC’s “Yahoo Chief Carol Bartz Sees Trouble for Google,” Ms. Bartz seems to veer into the type of advice my mother dispensed. I am sure that the actual interchange between the BBC and Ms. Bartz was not of the mom school of consulting, but I found this passage Proust like for me:

“Google is going to have a problem because Google is only known for search,” said Ms Bartz. “It is only half our business; it’s 99.9% of their business. They’ve got to find other things to do. “Google has to grow a company the size of Yahoo every year to be interesting.”

Well, maybe, maybe not? Yahoo and Google are quite different companies. In fact, Google is trying to diversify. The fascinating point is that Steve Ballmer quipped (working from memory here), “Google is a one trick pony.” His comment did not offer advice. It was then speculation which now seems to be a fact.

The question I wanted to see the BBC ask was, “Why, in your opinion, has Google been unable to generate significant new revenue streams?” Who needs advice? Not me.

I have some ideas about the handcuffs in which Google finds itself. I want to know what a major competitor perceives as the “Google disease”. After 11 years and modest diversification of its revenue, I think there may be some important learnings in the Google case.

I will keep my views out of this short news item. Mom is calling and wants me to pick up my room, take out the garbage, and mow the lawn. I hear myself saying, “Just a minute. I want to finish reading my homework.”

Stephen E Arnold, May 1, 2010

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Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under Business strategy, Google, News

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.