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.)
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I hadn’t noticed a decline in innovation. Granted nothing major has changed lately, but I continue to see small improvements/additions to gmail and Google Docs. I love Google Docs BTW.
I do see your point about corporations having a different goal than a privately held company. When the company is owned by a single person (or a small group) the positive side of having a high ego really comes through. They are that company, and the only way to improve their name is to improve their product, not their quarterly statements to the board.
They are doing innovative things, but aren’t creating them internally, they are just building on an idea that they purchased from someone else and re-branded it under the Google name.
I get your point. Buzz and the recent news of a foray into the ISP biz are both headscratchers. Very Un-Google if you ask me. That said, Android is poised to battle iPhone for #1 in the mobile space- multiple carriers, multiple devices & big time name recognition that is synonymous with innovation gives them plenty of mojo. Not as many apps yet but I have to believe they will easily compete with Apple on quality and catch up with numbers in time. Don’t forget, the iPad didn’t exactly shock the world and iPods big change last time around was adding a camera? Maybe Apple is having some of the same issues.