George R

Is Google Reinventing Management?

Hi Larry,

I always enjoy your articles and posts.

Google is one of the most interesting "stories" I've watched unfold in this industry in over thirty years (I started with IBM back in the early 70's ... no dinosaur comments, please).

The engineers, and their technology, at Google are truly remarkable. I use its search engines routinely and just added "News Alerts" last week. Lightning fast ... and VERY comprehensive ... that's all I can say!

However, it appears to me that you, and most other journalists I follow, seem to ignore one huge and important facet of this analysis. Hasn't Google set a completely new standard of operations and legal protocol by completely ignoring our existng copyright laws and running roughshod over anyone who tries to stop them?

This, moreso than management, financial, and marketing talents, will be their ultimate downfall in my opinion ... and I've witnessed quite a few of this industry's "superstars" crash and burn over the years.

Here's a related article I wrote recently. I'd love to hear your comments ... both good and bad.

The Tip of the Iceberg

Google's "do no evil" slogan sucked in millions and millions of people worldwide. People who had become accustomed to the business practices of Microsoft, Apple, AOL, Novel and others and who wanted, and needed a break. It was an easy audience to buy into the "hype".

It worked ... probably far better, and far faster, than even Google expected. In fact, when Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt, moved to Google from Novel (and earlier Cisco, I think) he indicated it would be a pleasant change of pace for him to not have to deal with Microsoft day in and day out anymore. Right Eric ... we hear you!

Google hired some of the smartest people in the world to help them carry the "do no evil" banner to the masses. Like rallying certain religious cultures to become more hostile to those of us in western civilizations, Google's reach for support became a relatively easy mission and spread like wildfire by word of mouth. Their timing was impeccable, as was their implementation.

Soon word of mouth converted to billions and billions of dollars of venture capital, investment, and advertising dollars and "Google" quickly became a common household word ... even a verb in many cases ... much like "Xerox" was used for all copying in the last century. Google stood for "innovation", for "anti-Microsoft", for "free and open source" and "free and open applications", for "open and honest discovery", and, most of all, for "simple and lightning fast search". I don't see too much evil in those causes, do you? ... "DO NO EVIL".

One thing Google forgot to tell us. Much of the content it planned to deliver for free was going to be stolen from others. It's kind of like a business model that sets out to steal crops from thousands and thousands of hard working, and disadvantaged, farmers, while offering the food for free to the world's millions and millions of starving people. As long as you do a good job promoting your good deeds not one of the small time farmers (not even the largest ones for that matter) are likely to be able to stop you. And billions of dollars provides a ton of legal and public relations support to spread the word in that direction as well. "Is it fair to cut off the supply of food to these hungry people throughout the world, your honor?"

Maybe I'm old school, but the shenanigans I've witnessed over the past three years since Google went public are the antithesis of "good deeds" from my experience.

And perhaps even worse, the other search companies like Microsoft, IAC, and Time Warner seem to following Google's lead rather than trying to do what is fair and just. I know this. I have communicated with senior level attorneys and executives at several of these companies about these concerns.

So, who are the farmers? Well, here's just a few of the many I have heard from, or read about:

- book publishers
- book authors
- illustrators
- cartoonists
- poets
- journalists
- songwriters
- animators
- digitizers
- musicians
- television studios
- designers
- photographers
- playwrights
- universities
- producers
- cable operators
- actors and actresses
- professional athletes
- artists
- comedians
- speech writers
- magazine columnists
- models
- writers
- newspaper editors
- comic strip creators
- videographers
- investigative reporters
- movie makers
- programmers

Seems like each of these groups have been involved in lawsuits involving Google over the past five years ... both here and in Europe. Almost always pertaining to intellectual property ... trademarks, copyrights, patents.

In fact, how do you explain this fact: Google knew that YouTube was involved in literally thousands and thousands of unlawful uploading and downloading activities BEFORE giving its two 20-something founders the lion's share of $1.65 billion in late 2006. And the infringement activity seems to have gotten worse rather than better since Google took the helm.

How does any modern, civilized government or industry explain that to the Chinese?
What signal has Google given the rest of the world regarding intellectual property and copyright infringement?

How about this one. "You probably shouldn't do it, but if you do, please do it like we do in a very big way, so that we can all profit from the advertising exposure, and the giveaways of our "docs" and other "apps" (one of Google's terms for "food") along the way."

I make my living from one of the categories referenced above. I believe in copyright protection and have always been willing to put my money, and my reputation, where my mouth was. Still am. In my view, Google has become the DOMINANT EVIL EMPIRE it claimed to loath. Microsoft is just laying low now and waiting for Google to fall on its own sword so that the original "Evil Empire" (according to Google anyway) can pick its way through the spoils.

"Do Some Evil" and count on the consuming public, the journalists, and our elected public officials, to be too stupid, or too afraid of technology, to notice what you're you really doing doesn't work across the board, Google.

Google's recent 10Q disclosures teel it all ... should not come as a surprise to anyone who has been following this story closely over the past few months. We've only seen the "tip of the iceberg" ... believe me.

George P. Riddick, III
Chairman/CEO
Imageline, Inc.

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