Monday, January 14, 2008

Google in the New Yorker

Interesting article on Google in the January 14th issue of the New Yorker. The subject is supposed to be about Google being more politically aware and active, but after reading it I came away thinking the author found the interactions between the two founders and Schmidt, the CEO, much more interesting. I think he was trying to show that cracks are beginning to emerge in their relationships. Setting the groundwork for a follow-up article a year or two from now if Google falters.

Now, I'm sure everything isn't perfect there but let's get real here. Those guys are two of the richest guys on the planet and they created one of the greatest businesses...ever. Plus, the network effects are so strong they keep picking up Search market share and lock-in's within Adwords and AdSense are so strong that I can't see how a challenger will beat them without a massively disruptive technology emerging. And yet, a reporter from the New Yorker expects these guys to pay extreme attention in a basic engineering meeting? It's so noteworthy that they aren't participating that it deserves a few columns in an article centered around political pressures?

Come on. This company is an unstoppable force right now. Trying to create fire where there is no smoke is a waste of time for the New Yorker.

P.S. I thought this quote from Andy Grove nailed why Google is so amazing.
Andy Grove, the former chairman and C.E.O. of Intel, who was an enthusiastic supporter of Google’s founders when they started the company, in 1998, believes that there may be more worry about Google than there was about Microsoft. “Microsoft’s power was intra-industry,” he told me. “Google’s power is shaping what’s happening to other industries.” Because of this, he says, Google is increasingly seen as a company “on steroids, with a finger in every industry.”