Royal Rumble for the Internet
It would seem that there are two political prize fights unfolding before us - one between Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton, who are vying for the Democratic nomination in the United States, and perhaps an even heavier battle in the IT gladiator pit between Google and Microsoft, over Microsoft’s pursuit of Yahoo!.
In both the stakes are high, the arguments are polished to perfection, and it’s exceptionally difficult to discern the true nature of the candidate from the facade that’s being presented.
Personally speaking, unlike the Democratic primaries where my candidate of choice is clear, in the race for online supremacy I have equal degrees of reservation and skepticism for both sides of the isle.
As always I’m attempting to reserve judgment on this story pending further investigation - but in this case I’ve got such firm opinions on both parties that I’m prevented from favouring either. In fact I’m so cynical and concerned that I’ve begun to see doom in most possible outcomes.
First and foremost with Google are the privacy concerns. They’re increasingly coming into the public firing line for the sheer volumes of information they’ve got indexed on their servers. Some are arguing this gives the company an unprecedented amount of power and influence. You need look no further than the periodic demands by governments for access to Google’s information storehouses before you realise the implications there.
For bloggers, vloggers, podcasters, and photo-sharers, much of this information is volunteered for all the world to see - sometimes a bit too unsparingly; however many are beginning to argue that it’s the information Google is indexing that we’re not volunteering - and not aware of - which is the main worry (see Google Privacy Concerns for example).
Others argue that Google’s massive slice of internet advertising and search queries represents a threat to competition in its own right. This is exactly what Microsoft put forth in their recent rebuttal to Google’s accusations of a threat to innovation and competition. Links to both press releases are as follows:
- Google argument: Yahoo! and the future of the Internet
- Microsoft rebuttal: Statement from Brad Smith, General Counsel, Microsoft
In light of the above, it would seem on one hand that the tech world would benefit from an adversary to Google. Perhaps a real substitute could force the company to live up to their famous slogan “Don’t be evil“.
On the other hand, Microsoft isn’t exactly a virtuous knight in shining armour charging forth to save the damsel from the clutches of the foul dragon. They bring an equal amount of controversy to the battlefield - if not more.
In Microsoft you have an unchallenged monster of a company who has all but destroyed every competitor it crosses paths with, earning itself several anti-trust lawsuits and legal battles in the process. Open source fans I know refer not to Microsoft, but Micro$oft, and loathe the closed nature of the software with a passion.
Google by contrast supports open source initiatives such as Firefox, Drupal, and the Summer of Code program. As Wikipedia explains:
“Google Summer of Code is an annual program, first held from May to August of 2005, in which Google awards stipends to students who successfully complete a free software / open-source coding project during the summer.”
Both companies have, in their day, contributed unprecedented amounts of innovation to what has become the IT industry today; however both have also reached levels of such unchallenged power that the public has begun to question their business processes and tactics and have turned against them.
The bottom line is ultimately a simple question: Would a Microsoft-Yahoo! merger present a sufficiently even match for Google that the two would keep each other in check as the New York Times suggests (Deal That May Create More, Not Less, Competition)?:
”…in the case of the online advertising market, advertising and media executives said on Friday that they liked the prospect of a combined Microsoft and Yahoo. Google, they said, has become so dominant in its grip over the online audience that the merger might be the only way to produce a competitor strong enough to face off with it.”
Otherwise God forbid one company ultimately won out over the other to become undisputed ruled of the IT world.
Monday, February 4th, 2008