The Economist (April 23)
With a dominant European market share, Google has come under fire from the European Commission. Google deserves to profit from its acumen, but this “has to be balanced against the need to inspire innovations that might complement Android or Google Search—or even displace them. It is now up to Google to demonstrate that its mobile strategy does not harm competition, and thus consumers.”
Tags: Android, Competition, Consumers, Dominant, Europe, European Commission, Google, Innovation, Market share, Mobile strategy, Profit, Search
Bloomberg (December 22)
Rather than a battle to the death between “lumbering” automakers and disruptive Silicon Valley, the deal between Google and Ford proves “that Detroit and Silicon Valley are increasingly likely to collaborate rather than compete” to realize autonomous vehicles. Ford’s decision to collaborate “may accelerate the decline of the traditional industry, but by taking an early seat at the table right next to Google, the firm has secured a position of relevance in the new mobility paradigm.”
Tags: Automakers, Autonomous vehicles, Collaborate, Compete, Detroit, Disruptive, Ford, Google, Lumbering, New mobility paradigm, Relevance, Silicon Valley
Financial Times (May 4)
EU policy makers’ now have their “sights have fixed upon ‘Gafa’ — the acronym used to denote Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon.” The regulators do not hate technology. “They understand that digital services invigorate the economy. But…. Europe has recently felt itself to be more on the losing side; however measured, not one of the world’s largest internet companies is European.”
Tags: Amazon, Apple, Digital services, Economy, EU, Facebook, Gafa, Google, Technology
Wall Street Journal (December 17)
“When we increased paid leave at Google to 18 weeks, the rate at which new mothers left fell by 50%.” For her fifth time, the CEO of Youtube will take maternity leave at Google, but Susan Wojcicki points out that Google remains an exception in the U.S. where paid leave is not federally required. “Paid maternity leave is good for mothers, families and business. America should have the good sense to join nearly every other country in providing it.”
The Economist (January 18, 2014)
“With a string of deals the internet giant has positioned itself to become a big inventor, and reinventor, of hardware.” Google is becoming “the next GE,” with recent acquisitions spanning Nest Labs, Motorola Mobility and Boston Dynamics even as Google’s in-house engineers are “busy working on driverless cars and wearable gadgets such as Google Glass.”
Tags: Acquisitions, Boston Dynamics, Driverless cars, Engineers, GE, Google, Google Glass, Hardware, Inventor, Motorola Mobility, Nest Labs, Wearable gadgets
The Economist (September 21)
“Nine of the world’s ten most valuable firms are American.” A rising stock market and the euro crisis are partly responsible, but the reasons go deeper. “First, America’s mix of resilience and renewal. Three of its nine biggest firms have their roots in a 16-year period in the late 19th century—Exxon, General Electric and Johnson & Johnson. Their durability reflects their powerful corporate cultures. But the country still does creative destruction, too. IBM and Intel have slid down the rankings to be replaced by Apple and Google. Chevron, an energy firm, has gone from a laggard to a world-beater. Success has been anything but parochial. Six of the nine biggest firms sell more abroad than at home.”
Tags: Apple, Chevron, Corporate culture, Creative destruction, Durability, Euro crisis, Exxon, General electric, Google, IBM, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Rankings, Stock market, Success, U.S., Value
