I am a Google fan.  A big Google fan.  I have Gmail, participate in Groups, use GoogleDocs, Feedburner, Google Analytics, Google Voice, and even had a fleeting thought about getting the Google phone.  (That passed when I realized I couldn’t take all of my iPhone apps with me.  Curses to Steve Jobs!)

It seems to me like Google has just been playing it safe lately. They used to take risks and push the boundaries and now it seems they are content to buy up proven technologies and ideas instead of continuing to innovate. In my eyes this is a direct result of being a publicly traded company.

As a publicly traded company your goal is to maximize shareholder value. Prior to this, Google seemed to have the goal of having the most innovative products. So, can the two sides co-exist?

So, do you think that Google is a sell-out corporation now? Can they regain their innovative mojo? (I hope so.)