That right, it's destiny, preordained: Google is a spin on googol -the digit 1 followed by one hundred zeros.
The tech industry has never been a boring industry. One need look back no further than the buest of the .com bubble only a few years back for proof. So there are always fluctuations, and inconsistencies. Microsoft is huge, but hated. Yahoo has just been dubbed “moral pygmies” by the US House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, Tom Lantos, for handing over information to the Chinese gov't that landed a key Yahoo China employee in prison.
But there are some consistencies in the tech industry that some
people fail to view with much interest. So much of the world is focused
on sheer monetary gain, and they miss other crucial aspects.
And
let’s not be naïve either. Money really is everything, especially in
the tech industry. But the important thing to remember is that there
are many ways to make money.
Tech gossip-rag Valleywag has just run a story entitled “Why Apple
will be bigger than Google.” No surprises as to where this story got
its title.
Without rehashing the entire article at Valleywag, let’s just take a moment to look at a few of their points.
1) They spend a lot of time focusing on the groundbreaking deal
that Steve Jobs managed to make with AT&T. Focusing on the fact
they get cash from hardware and network subscription sales and from
their iTunes Store sales. Great, yes, but not everything.
2) They describe Monday’s Google announcement of the Open Social
network as a “nonrelease”, and call the industry initiative backed by
Google “laughable”.
3) Valleywag seem to have been bitten by the Steve Jobs bug, also
known as the “distortion field’. Apple can do no wrong, in their eyes.
Let’s not attack Valleywag though, let’s just quietly reflect on the
fact that, despite everything, the iPhone is not actually Christ
reincarnate. As flashy and big of an introduction as it received,
Christ’s return will probably involve some cloud cover opening and
heavenly angels (not the Pussycat Dolls mind you).
Let us make the point straight off the bat; Google knows their
customers. They know them better than Apple does in fact, and I believe
that there is no chance that “Apple is worth more than Google within
two years.”
Because Google’s customer is everyone, and what they are selling is
advertising. It has nothing to do with a flashy phone – though there is
no doubt they’ll manage that. And let’s be realistic, the iPhone has
been locked down to hell and back, is running on a less than adequate
network, and has intermittent at best WiFi access.
Sure, they’ve locked their customers in to having to use iTunes –
and thus opening up a new stream of revenue. But they’ve also locked
themselves in to a rumored 5 year contract to sell only with AT&T.
Google, on the other hand, has begun strongly, with numerous backers, from networks, cell phone makers and chip makers.
Valleywag’s view of the Google release is, in itself, laughable.
They believe that – because Nokia and Microsoft are not involved in
this – it is doomed to failure. When, in reality, Nokia have today
announced that they are indeed open to the possibility of a joint
venture with the new Google platform, Android.
As for Microsoft? I laugh at their theory that one must have
Microsoft on board for a mobile device. Consider the bane of many
executives and businesses; Microsoft Windows Mobile. It works as much
as it fails, and has suffered as much bad press as the consecutive
failed launches of Windows XP and Vista.
Valleywag’s authors all seem to have been bitten by the Apple bug.
So much so, that they seem to view the rest of the world in such
limited terms. I haven’t played with an Apple iPhone, but I would like
too. But even I – an Apple fanboy – can see the flaws in the iPhone.
Let’s not even discuss the locked down flawed network that Apple has
latched itself on to. Consider the fact that the biggest iPhone news
was not the launch, but the hacking of the iPhone. Then the launch
might come in second, closely followed in third place by the ability to
run third party apps; another hack!
The rant is coming to a close. But let’s just conclude with why Google will be bigger than Apple.
First of all, from a strictly financial standpoint, Google will
always have more money than Apple. They are not banking on the success
of a single product, but can – as has already been seen – suffer the
loss of a product and keep on going. They don’t get bogged down by a
failure.
Their business is advertising. They sell advertising like Homer sold
his Tomacco, and they do it well. It’s everywhere too! They begun with
search related ads, then website related ads, and it just keeps
growing. So when you’ve got a cell phone in your pocket that has
area-specific advertising, are you trying to tell me that their cash
flow won’t increase?
But, stepping away from a strictly financial point of view, Google
aren’t sufferers of fanboy-ism. They are known to the world over, for
good products. Apple is known to the world over for one product. Google
aren’t the big multi-billion dollar industry giant (though they are)
that is out there to squash the little guy. They take the little guy,
and make him big, just like they’ve done with Android, which started
out as a small start-up.
That is why Google will always be bigger than Apple; not to mention Microsoft, Nokia, Palm, Yahoo…
Posted by Josh Hill.