The Kinder, Gentler Google: Not Since 2006
December 16, 2019
A number of people spoke with me after my lecture in Washington, DC, last week. Surprisingly quite a few people had questions about the three Google monographs I wrote. These were published by an eccentric and now defunct British publishing house. The printed versions of my research are no longer available. One question, posed to me at lunch was, “When did Google stop being Googley?”
My answer was 2006. In that year, the last vestiges of Google’s friendly old self were under assault. Who and what changed the company? The answer is an easy one, “Quarterly expectations from Wall Street and the accelerating snowball of advertising revenues.”
For me, 2006 is the pivot year. When I read “Why NUKEMAP Isn’t on Google Maps Anymore,” I knew I had spotted a Google user who did not read my monographs. No surprise there. I recycle information developed for commercial clients, and my approach is best described as Okay, Boomer.
The article explains several insights the author obtained when using Google Maps and associated technology for what I would describe as a public service project; specifically, making clear the ground level impact of a nuclear explosion. There are atmosphere impacts as well, but these remain in the hands of nuclear effects modelers at specialized firms.
What did the write up’s author learn about the “new” Google. Here’s a selection of his somewhat painful discoveries:
- Google does not “care about” small developers. That is correct. Big money comes from big outfits. This applies to advertisers and to programmers. Why? Money is needed to keep the good ship Google afloat. Costs are rising like water in glacial lakes fed with snow melt.
- Google changes its mind. Well, not really. What happens is that Googlers want to hook on the hot and well funded projects, products, and services. Promotions and money go with winner projects. Without the best and the brightest, how can a product or service get better? Answer: Slowly or not at all.
- Google’s free products and services are going the way of cable television fees: Up and up. Why? Money.
I recommend the article. It contains a very important point:
Today there are perfectly viable alternatives.
That means Google faces more pressure than ever: Wall Street, rising costs, anti trust investigations, and developers who don’t want to be Googley.
Stephen E Arnold, December 16, 2019
Comments
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
