My concern pertains more to non-core businesses, such as Google self-driving automobiles. That doesn’t indicate that Google is an innovative company to me. Why don’t they do a joint venture with one of the Big 3 automakers in Detroit? Perhaps Google tried to do so, and was rejected. I don’t know.

As for Google being motivated (mostly) by reducing barriers to internet usage… I used to believe that. I feel less certain recently. Google dropped many of its Labs products. For example, it discontinued Google Tashkeel, a service that helped with Arabic diactrics. Tashkeel was innovative and highly valued by users. It facilitated search queries. That would be an example of vertical integration, and it also served the purpose of reducing barriers to internet usage.

P.S. I enjoyed the images in your article. I confess, I would be very happy to be a Google employee.

I’m not sure how to respond except to refer you back to the argument in my post. Google doesn’t need to take control of the user as long as it reduces the friction to using the Internet and it continues to monetize search and browse activity via AdWords, AdSense and DoubleClick.

The goal is to make it easier for people to get the information they seek and to make a profit in doing so. The strategy to do so is to reduce the barriers to Internet usage.

This is a great post, but honestly how can you say that the Google Strategy is just make people spending more time on internet and make their experience better ? Making people stay on Internet cannot be a finality for Google or any other compagny. The truth is that Google is trying to take the full control of the user on the internet.

Allowing a better user experience, is a way to reach the goal, but that’s not the goal
Take in mind that if a service is free, it’s mean that the real product, is the user. Do you think that the Google strategy is to allow a better experience to the product ? That make no sense, Google just trying all to be the only one that can deliver the product. That compagny is building a verry dangerous monopoly.

Thank you and the login is certainly important. And sure enough, in the interim between your comment and now, Google launched the Google+ Social Sign-in.

Coca Cola pays taxes properly, on their revenue, in all jurisdictions they are operating in.
Google make the outmost effort to avoid paying taxes in all most jurisdiction were they operate, thereby denying their clients healthcare, infrastructure, education and so on.

Is this good or evil?

What is the basic philosophy and core values of a person or a company which does the outmost to avoid their civic responsibilities, thereby causing hardship for individuals and populations?

Google should be judge on what they do, not what they say they are doing.

Look at the core actions of google. Google is working with 100% self interest in their mind, nothing else! This will make them do some good for us but the end result is still they want to take as much money from us as they can in all respects, as seen in the way they actually contribute to the society they operate in they don’t want to give anything back to us if they can avoid it!

I’m sorry AJ in the above article and comment responses you come across as a google apologetic. Very similar to the “useful idiots” which the Soviet Union used among western journalists, authors, artists and intellectuals..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Useful_idiot

Evil, maybe not, but you if love somebody (google) taking charge of you and your life, then this is it.

Maybe Brin was touched by nostalgia, missed his childhood’s KGB and wanted to create an even more powerful information gatherer and control machine.

Google decides most of what I see and don’t see and don’t on the net, and do so for, obviously, filling their own pockets, but also this naturally extends into mind control by subliminal input, which further drops monnies into their purse.
Yes, massa Google!