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| Google's prospects from a Google user and independent investor |
Google Reader - 10/07/2005 10:46:00 AM
This is probably not a huge deal for the Google investor, but it appears that Google is readying a new product -- and I haven't heard anything about this yet from other sources.
I've been getting hits to buygoogle from reader.google.com, which appears to be a news reader similar to Bloglines, but with extra Googly goodness. It's fast and fun, it allows tagging and labeling. And because search is central, it's really easy to find new sources to subscribe to. Here's an example of John Battelle's blog seen through the Google Reader lens. I'd expect the next rev of Gmail to include some of these nifty navigation features.  |
New Yahoo maps next week? - 10/05/2005 01:41:39 PM
A little bird says that Yahoo will be releasing their answer to Google Maps next week. If there's any truth to the rumor, it's probably a safe bet that the new Yahoo Maps will mimic Google's AJAXy interface. No word on any killer features that would leapfrog Google.
Whether this rumor is true or not, the Google investor should consider how much of an advantage Google's relentless innovation has provided them. I'd say that improved user interface and new features are easliy copied by nimble competitors - Google Maps has been out for less than a year now. While watching Google and Yahoo compete over the quality of free features is delightful for users, this kind of thing is less meaningful for investors. The Google investor should focus instead on how much of a sustainable competitive advantage Google can develop. I'd watch for infrastructure plays like national broadband, Google Web Accelerator, and machine language translation for clues to difficult problems that, if solved, will be much harder for competitors to copy. |
Bio-Info-Nano - 10/05/2005 01:25:00 PM
Google had people scratching their heads over last week's announcement that they would collaborate with NASA on "bio-info-nano convergence" research and development. Not only is "bio-info-nano convergence" one of the best examples yet of buzzwords run amok, but what business does Google have getting this far afield from search and advertising?
The second shoe dropped today, when Google appointed Shirley M. Tilghman to its board of directors. Not only is Tilghman the president of Princeton University, but she's also Professor of Molecular Biology. Bio-info-nano convergence, anyone? Certainly there are difficult problems to solve here, and Google could bring their expertise with massive data sets and high-volume parallel processing to bear. But investors in Google should hope Google knows what it's doing here, and not using a public company as a private intellectual playground. |
Google mission statement = basic human right - 10/03/2005 10:26:00 PM
In discussing his goal to provide free wireless internet access to everyone in San Francisco, mayor Gavin Newsom says: "It is to me a fundamental right to have access universally to information." Google has bid to provide free Wi-Fi to San Francisco, and their mission (not coincidentally) is to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful."
It would seem that Google's mission to make the world's information universally accessible would, by necessity, require Google to get into the telecom business -- how else to make the information universally accessible? Newsom is fighting the entrenched telcos and cable companies who would restrict access to protect their franchises. He is "bracing for a battle with telephone and cable interests along with state and federal regulators who he said are looking to derail a campaign by cities to offer free or low-cost municipal Wi-Fi services." |
Google not added to S&P 500 - 10/03/2005 08:31:09 AM
There was speculation last week that Google would be added to the S&P 500 index over the weekend. The stock seemed to rise on the rumor, and has fallen back some now that another company has taken the slot. Not sure why the stock would move at all for this, because it's almost a dead certainty that it will happen sooner or later. From the Motley Fool:
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