Winter Blahs for Google
December 1, 2010
I am stuck in frosty London. Power failures in Hammersmith, big traffic jams, and the winter blahs for the Google. Now I think Google is caught in a double bind. The company can’t shake its own internal problems with staff and the outside world seems intent on finding fault with the company.
Two examples warrant my noting them. These will be touchstones in my vertical file in the Google folder.
First, there was the news that Google is the winner of another legal investigation prize. Navigate to “Our Thoughts on the European Commission Review.” The Google explains itself but I am not sure that the Math Club’s prose will do much to stop the European regulators for riding a high profile pony across the public relations landscape. And if a fine is levied, all the better. A distraction from the very real European financial challenges could produce a cash windfall. What I find interesting is that Google finds itself on the hot seat as Microsoft was for many years. Ironic? Yep.
Second, Microsoft did not miss an opportunity to point out that Google has some problems in its enterprise push. I noted the viewpoint in “Microsoft Exec Says Google Is ‘Failing’ in the Enterprise.” Bubbling beneath the surface is the implication that if Google cannot diversify its revenues, the company has tallied another failure, probably as notable as the Street View problem.
I don’t think it is my imagination. Google is getting more than its share of bashing since summer ended. I think that Google has more than a PR problem. The company seems to have a cornucopia of money and the ability to stumble, trip, and mishandle products and services. In the past, few noticed or cared.
Times change. Now Google has problems that algorithms cannot resolve. As the Microsoft executive said:
I would say that they’re failing, yes. I would say that the results have not shown that they’re successful in the space. We’ve had customers who’ve gone to Google and have come back to Microsoft.
Ouch. Google has more problems that a chilled and snowy Londontown.
Stephen E Arnold, December 1, 2010
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Five years ago, everyone thought it was great that Google had a fail quickly, fail often philosophy. The current fail slowly, fail always mode is not so attractive.