Google: Sherman Is Looming over the Horizon

Almost everyone in the civilized world knows the name Google. What started as a simple internet search engine with new site rating algorithms in 1998 is now a powerhouse with so many facets; it barely resembles the original site which was incorporated in the garage of a friend of creators Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

There is a question on the minds of many though.

Has Google grown too big?

To really answer that, people need to have an understanding of aggressive expansion Google has undergone in the last decade.

Google now includes:

• Google is still a search engine of course, although “search” may be too simple a word to use. Google’s search capabilities range from a standard web search to academic papers to getting email alerts when a new result comes up in search.
• Google advertising: What started simple quickly grew. Google now has advertising services for internet, TV, newspapers, magazines, billboards, and just about everywhere else a person can think of to advertise.
• Standalone applications: These are programs which can be used and installed independent of any other Google application.
• Google also has a plethora of desktop and browser add-ons and extensions.
• Mobile technology including downloadable Google applications for cell phones, PDA’s, and other mobile devices – as well as products like Google Latitude which lets friends locate you on Google Maps.
• Maps, maps and more maps are in Google’s massive databases. People can now find just about anywhere in the world via Google Maps, and in most cases can see the actual satellite photo of the place they’re searching for.
• Financial advice services.
• Chat, phone, and blogging services.
• Development, communications, publishing, and a host of others which number in the hundreds. Listing and describing each one would take hundreds of pages.

If the mission statements of Google, and statements by top placed management including the creators are an indicator, Google is now into businesses and technologies that were never intended.

Google executives in the past have said that Google would never get into chat, financial advice, and a host of other services it now offers. So what is the future of this multi-faceted world leader?

The truth is that no one can say specifically. When Microsoft Corporation had half as many services as Google, they found themselves in court from several levels for everything from Sherman Anti-Trust suits to market fixing. While none of the suits were ever proved conclusively, Microsoft spent hundreds of millions of dollars in legal fees.

Google, unlike Microsoft, seems to have an edge. Mainly, they’re contributing more heavily to political campaigns. No one can say or prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Google has done anything illegal or unethical, but the fact remains – politicians have the power to pass legislation which can help or hurt Google. Perhaps the most damaging policy the government can enforce is a injunction or prohibition of the recent Yahoo/Google ads deal. To many, this deal would put Google at the top of a monopoly controlling too much of the world’s online ad placements. (The deal in question was struck between Yahoo and Google for Yahoo to place Google ads on its pages. Google management asserts that anyone can become a Adsense member, and has done nothing wrong.)

Another sore spot is the fact that Google has developed its own browser. Critics say that this (Google Chrome) browser will be the final nail in the coffin, putting Google in control of too large a percentage of the online/internet market. While the critics scream and yell however, Google stocks are still one of the highest.

Google reported over five billion in revenues for the fourth quarter of 2008 which was an eighteen percent increase over the 2007 fourth quarter revenues. Google stock price as of March 10, 2009 was at 308.00, it hasn’t been hit as hard as other companies by the US recession – trading at almost four hundred dollars less than its all time high of 707.00 in October 2007. Google has the earnings to whether this US recession, and is still attractive to investors.

Perhaps the biggest complaint about Google in recent years has been about the privacy of both users and non-users of Google. Google’s services scan emails and chat from Gmail and Google Talk to provide relevant ad placement. Google also scans MySpace pages for the same reasons. This makes people nervous because it essentially gives Google access to people’s conversations, correspondence and hobbies (in the case of MySpace).

Also, in the realm of privacy, is Google Latitude. Latitude allows users to locate “friends and family” via a geolocation map. Many say that this is kin to “Big Brother” in that anyone can go onto the Latitude page, activate a phone number, and use the service to locate them. Google spokesmen have said that this is ridiculous because there are numerous safeguards in place, and it’s an entirely “opt-in” service.

It’s doubtful that any competitor will “spring” up in the next five to ten years. The world economy is not in the shape to support another major competitor, and starting revenues for a company which could compete is virtually impossible to get. The only thing which could level the field against Google would be for the government to issue legislation, or a successful Sherman Anti-Trust lawsuit. The only other ways a real competitor for Google could come into play would be for several smaller companies to merge which have most of the same services Google offers, or for a private entity to invest several hundred billion dollars into an existing company.

Only the future will tell what is to become of Google, but it’s probably not a good idea to sell off your stocks just yet. For the near future, Google is a more sound financial investment than even mutual funds and money market accounts. For those critics who protest the loudest, it’s time to either step up to the plate or lick your wounds and go elsewhere. In this day and age, when there is a giant, it takes more than a single stone to topple them.

External Link:

• The Google Hive Mind