Quote:
Originally Posted by Barty
Since I don't own Google stock I don't much care if they throw their money away. I prefer they keep investing in moon shots rather than me too services, though. In fact I'm kind of wary of using the lesser known google services, because I never know when they'll get tired of it and decide to pull the plug. See: Reader
|
Exactly.
Those moonshots (Google glass, for one) tend to be risky but they come with the potential to open entirely new markets and are *exactly* the kind of stuff a cash flush company *should* invest in. But it requires sticking with the effort, not giving up after a year or two.
Creating new markets can be pricey but the payoff is you get to *own* that market for as long as you outrun the inevitable me-too followers (c.f., Palm) but you can make more money and build up brand equity instead of friterring it on the tenth photo hosting or RSS reader app on the market.
Wave was risky, it was innovative, and it offered a way to move creative work online. Instead of working to show this, Google just killed it. Now Microsoft is coming in and looking to fill the same niche with Office 365. Not as ambitious, not as innovative, but since it's Microsoft's biggest cash cow, they're not likely to drop it and leave its users high and dry.
Or Glass:
http://www.cnet.com/news/google-glas...in-the-shower/
Again, ambitious. Needed support and reworking.
Instead, Google lost interest and moved on.
(Microsoft, which has been working on Hololens since before Glass was launched is still building it up slowly, focusing on specific uses and markets. A long shot but one that might hit.)
Now Google is promoting Android payment to compete with Apple and VISA and Amazon... Wouldn't surprise me if they did get into banking.
And while they run around all over the place, more focused competitors are quietly creating new markets all around them in home automation, wearables, internet of things...