London Times Says Google’s Unhealthy Dominance Will End
May 6, 2008
A cultured journalist, David Rowan, argues that “Google’s unhealthy dominance will end”. Read the story here, before it becomes unfindable in the murky depths of the (London) Times Online, “the news site of the year”. I don’t agree with the conclusion nor do I agree with the reasoning in the article, but it will be important, particularly in London’s financial sweat shops.
The points that jumped out at me cluster under this statement, “They [Google management] feel pretty damn lucky over in Google’s Mountain View headquarters this week.” Here’s my take on the argument presented in this article:
- The Microsoft Yahoo tie up would have been good for Microsoft and bad for Google
- Google’s monopoly is “in none of our interests”
- The changes in information will be significant and Google will play a big part in them
- Microsoft and Yahoo have a chance to develop more products and services “that people actually want”
My thought is that notions of Microsoft and Yahoo building products that people want is partially correct, almost like horse shoes where getting close to the stake earns a point. The problem is that Google is an infrastructure company, and it has an operational advantage and a cost advantage.
You have to be “pretty damn lucky” if you develop a product and expect it to run fast, run economically, and run at scale on the plumbing Microsoft and Yahoo now depend upon. Google’s products and services are a by product of its infrastructure and its engineering. Until the competition figures this out and responds to it with a leap frog solution, Google faces no significant competition from Microsoft or Yahoo. As I argue in Google Version 2.0, Google faces many challenges. These range from keeping staff on the team and productive to inter personal relationships among Messrs. Brin, Page, and Schmidt. A focus on products and services won’t narrow Google’s engineering lead, which I estimate at 12 to 24 months and increasing.
Stephen Arnold, May 6, 2008
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2 Responses to “London Times Says Google’s Unhealthy Dominance Will End”
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“Read the story here, before it becomes unfindable in the murky depths of the (London) Times Online”
You could always Google for it 😉
Hi, Rob,
That’s generally true. I find that stories on some newspaper and tabloid Web sites slither away. Google works if the link is valid or the document is in the Google cache. If not, it’s off to the British Museum to research the old fashioned way. Thanks for the happy face. A gentle quack from the Beyond Search goose for you.
Stephen Arnold, May 6, 2008