Saturday, November 03, 2007

I, Cringely . The Pulpit . The Next Microsoft | PBS

Timely reality check; read the full post

Google shares rose above $700 this week, making the search giant worth more than Cisco, Intel, Apple, or IBM, but still less than Microsoft and General Electric, if just barely. Is the company really worth that kind of money or is this just the effect of a bubble market? Google is on a tear, that's for sure, but I see a few potholes ahead that the company could avoid but probably won't. Part of this stems from Google starting to look, in some ways, a bit like Microsoft. Uh-oh.

I think Google has in the works a global strategy so sweeping and audacious that it is breathtaking, but that's for a future column. This week I want to point out where Google is screwing up, why, and what they should do about it.

One aspect of this type of "the next Microsoft" theme I find interesting: in most cases, the writers describe Microsoft modus operandi of 15 - 20 years ago, not the way Microsoft operates today.

I, Cringely . The Pulpit . The Next Microsoft PBS

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