Comments on: More Google – The Tao of Open http://rsandsconsulting.com/2009/12/23/more-google-the-tao-of-open/ Strategic Marketing for Platform Adoption Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:16:30 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Rich http://rsandsconsulting.com/2009/12/23/more-google-the-tao-of-open/comment-page-1/#comment-60 Rich Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:53:35 +0000 http://rsandsconsulting.com/?p=509#comment-60 @Dave - you've got that right! Google doesn't care if they clear cut the forest. Regulators, competitors (legal, patent, etc.) and creators (writers, etc.) might care though. And Google's "Don't be evil" philosophy is, I think, not merely glad-handing but something they really believe. In 2010, their ability to crush whole markets as those markets become digitized will get governments' attention, I think. It sure is an interesting question whether such "market failures" are actually failures or just the Innovator's Dilemma writ large, and an inevitable consequence of 21st century business. Whether govenments ought to bail out markets that get clear cut by Google and the Internet, or regulators step in and halt the chainsaws, is a question for politicians. @Dave – you’ve got that right! Google doesn’t care if they clear cut the forest. Regulators, competitors (legal, patent, etc.) and creators (writers, etc.) might care though. And Google’s “Don’t be evil” philosophy is, I think, not merely glad-handing but something they really believe. In 2010, their ability to crush whole markets as those markets become digitized will get governments’ attention, I think. It sure is an interesting question whether such “market failures” are actually failures or just the Innovator’s Dilemma writ large, and an inevitable consequence of 21st century business. Whether govenments ought to bail out markets that get clear cut by Google and the Internet, or regulators step in and halt the chainsaws, is a question for politicians.

]]> By: Dave Hofert http://rsandsconsulting.com/2009/12/23/more-google-the-tao-of-open/comment-page-1/#comment-59 Dave Hofert Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:16:32 +0000 http://rsandsconsulting.com/?p=509#comment-59 Excellent article! I think you're spot-on throughout, but I'd look closer at your "transparent" statement at the end. I agree with all but the third sentence: "We’re not trying to compete in these areas but the effect of our adoption-led strategy is to make it very hard for others to make money doing these things." This is true, but I don't think Google thinks about this that much. My analogy is that Google's information business is like a tower in the woods. It's a beautiful tower and provides great intelligence to all who climb it. In order to provide better access and clearer vision over more of the land - Google is cutting down all of the trees that surround the tower. So, they're busy cutting down the desktop productivity app woods, the mobile platform woods, the app server woods, etc. This is fine for the end customer at first glance - Android is cool, Google apps is great, calendar/email all good -- but what happens to those markets when the woods are all gone? Will innovation or creativity be stifled as Google cleans out those businesses in service of it's own ad business? If those businesses can be cleaned out, then perhaps they need to go, but it doesn't feel right to me and I worry about the law of unintended consequences here. Keep up the great writing! Excellent article! I think you’re spot-on throughout, but I’d look closer at your “transparent” statement at the end. I agree with all but the third sentence: “We’re not trying to compete in these areas but the effect of our adoption-led strategy is to make it very hard for others to make money doing these things.”

This is true, but I don’t think Google thinks about this that much. My analogy is that Google’s information business is like a tower in the woods. It’s a beautiful tower and provides great intelligence to all who climb it. In order to provide better access and clearer vision over more of the land – Google is cutting down all of the trees that surround the tower. So, they’re busy cutting down the desktop productivity app woods, the mobile platform woods, the app server woods, etc.

This is fine for the end customer at first glance – Android is cool, Google apps is great, calendar/email all good — but what happens to those markets when the woods are all gone? Will innovation or creativity be stifled as Google cleans out those businesses in service of it’s own ad business?

If those businesses can be cleaned out, then perhaps they need to go, but it doesn’t feel right to me and I worry about the law of unintended consequences here.

Keep up the great writing!

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