From Deseret News archives:

At 10 years old, Google pursuing endless ambitions

Published: Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008 1:25 a.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — When Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google Inc. on Sept. 7, 1998, they had little more than their ingenuity, four computers and an investor's $100,000 bet on their belief that an Internet search engine could change the world.

It sounded preposterous 10 years ago, but look now: Google draws upon a gargantuan computer network, nearly 20,000 employees and a $150 billion market value to redefine media, marketing and technology.

Perhaps Google's biggest test in the next decade will be finding a way to pursue its seemingly boundless ambitions without triggering a backlash that derails the company.

"You can't do some of the things that they are trying to do without eventually facing some challenges from the government and your rivals," said Danny Sullivan, who has followed Google since its inception and is now editor in chief of SearchEngineLand.

Google's expanding control over the flow of Internet traffic and advertising already is raising monopoly concerns.

The intensifying regulatory and political scrutiny on Google's expansion could present more roadblocks in the future. Even now, there's a chance U.S. antitrust regulators will challenge Google's plans to sell ads for Yahoo Inc., a fading Internet star whose recent struggles have been magnified by Google's success.

Story continues below
Privacy watchdogs also have sharpened their attacks on Google's retention of potentially sensitive information about the 650 million people who use its search engine and other Internet services like YouTube, Maps and Gmail. If the harping eventually inspires rules that restrict Google's data collection, it could make its search engine less relevant and its ad network less profitable.

To protect its interests, Google has hired lobbyists to bend the ears of lawmakers and ramped up its public relations staff to sway opinion as management gears up to conquer new frontiers.

"Google will keep pushing the envelope," predicted John Battelle, who wrote a book about the company and now runs Federated Media, a conduit for Internet publishers and advertisers. "It's one of the things that seems to make them happy."

In the latest example of its relentless expansion, Google has just released a Web browser to make its search engine and other online services even more accessible and appealing. Not every peripheral step has gone smoothly, though; several of the company's ancillary products have flopped or never lived up to the hype.

Extending Google's ubiquity to cell phones and other mobile devices sits at the top of management's agenda for the next decade.

Recent comments

and I agree with all of the above comments.

Even though the...

Google is awesome... | Sept. 6, 2008 at 5:20 p.m.

In the seventies the evil US government started worked with a group...

More to this story. | Sept. 6, 2008 at 3:03 p.m.

I went ahead and downloaded their new Google Chrome web browser on my...

Fan.... | Sept. 6, 2008 at 2:13 p.m.

Image
Rene Tillmann, Associated Press

A visitor passes a Google exhibit in Duesseldorf, Germany, in 2007. Google now has a $150 billion market value and nearly 20,000 employees.

previousnext

Latest comments

BYU panel calls for morals in movies

How about movies with no characters arguing and everybody is always happy and...

Few details on missing W.V. mom

so so so sad

Pitta doesn't win award

Really? How? The numbers prove that Pitta is a better tightend than...

Boozer coming through on a few occasions does not make up for all the time he...

BCS did TCU a favor?

One correction. The Utes won the duel last year, thumping the cougars. I...

Just keep the field green.

Lousy football team, they lack heart, their fan base is marginal at best and...

BYU panel calls for morals in movies

...you're not fooling anyone. You're simply a troll.

What, clearplay doesn't work for PG movies?? Just keep pretending that...

I'm sorry, but if any of you feel like any other coach could/would do a...

Advertisements