What on earth is Google up to now? Lately, they’re always up to something. Phones, browsers, operating systems, netbooks, publishing copyrights, net neutrality opinions, there is no end to the activity, it’s enough to make anybody’s head spin, perhaps even Googlers’ own.
Having just finished not addressing the rumor of its Yelp acquisition for a tidy amount, they go and give rise to a totally new rumor not to be addressed, of still another acquisition, this time a real estate listings service of all things. In a way, local restaurant reviews and local real estate listings share a local advertising aspect, so there is more method to the madness than might initially meet the eye. But the specific rationale behind particular M&A is not the most important consideration, as all the activity relates to a grander strategy for which these little deals are in a sense incidental.
We noted the rift that, at least visibly, occurred between Google and Apple in the summer of 2009. Perhaps this rift had been going on behind the scenes for much longer, but regardless: These two are now like two well-matched opponents – in a different class from anyone else in the contest – who are as a result focused almost exclusively on each other. And, really, we forgive them their snobbishness.
Where is, for example, Microsoft these days? Does anybody really care? Yeah sure, Windows and all. Yawn. Wake us up when it’s over. Yahoo! is truly an afterthought, is if anything the innocent but mildly annoying guest at the party. AOL is an experiment. Twitter is an acquisition target waiting in the wings but amusingly pretending otherwise. Even Facebook may not be far behind Twitter, because we may at last have seen a kink in Facebook’s armor as privacy issues keep surfacing. This will limit Facebook’s ability to become a third meaningful contestant, (although they may still have a shot), scrambling to find a way to monetize global private data en masse.
So, accepting it to be the case that, for better or worse, and at least for the time being, the consumer media world is largely one of Google and Apple, we have to look at everything that either one of them does (or appears to do) in the near term context of a battle with one another, which battle will likely determine the direction of the industry for years. This dynamic is manifest in mobility, for example, as touched upon in a prior article here, and in the other major sector movement, that of cloud based vs. decentralized consumer protocols. While Google has been leading the charge on behalf of the cloud, Apple’s acquisition of Lala marks Apple’s entry point into that realm; and there are and will be many other fronts that will be opened, closed, reopened, as the campaign runs its course.
When we thus see Google either tacitly or openly introducing a new acquisition, a new product, a new feature, a new position, with (literally) every new day, this is the classic war strategy of constantly keeping your opponent guessing and preoccupied, of never letting your opponent rest, and attempting to define your opponent in the way you choose, before the other side has a chance to turn the tables. That Google’s frenzied pace also opens new markets and entry points for the company is also a benefit, an added bonus of optionality that will also pay dividends up ahead.
