When Should We Start to Worry About a Google Monopoly?
Posted 02/23/09 at 10:12:59 AM by Paul Lilly
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Ping any power user's PC and there's a good chance you'll find he/she is using Google for search queries (who isn't?), Gmail for at least one email account, and maybe even Google Desktop. Throw in Google Apps and all the rest of Google's offerings and it's not hard to see we're living in a GWorld, but at what point does the company become too big?
This is the question raised by CNet, who points out that Google avoided one antitrust lawsuit by abandoning a proposed advertising pact with Yahoo, only to recently be hit with another by TradeComet.com. Such is the price of growth, which has seen Google take a 36.5 percent to 30.5 percent market share advantage over Yahoo in July 2005 and increase it to 63 percent versus 21 percent currently.
"You almost feel sorry for Google," said Danny Sullivan, editor in chief of Search Engine Land. "They're doing a good job and people are turning to them. But when they pass 70 percent share, people are going to be uncomfortable about Google becoming a monopoly."
Jeff Atwood, a co-founder of Stack Overflow, says he has no ill feelings toward Google, but is definitely concerned about where the company will be in four years. "A world in which there is no competition strikes me as unhealthy," Atwood said.
Is Google close to becoming a monopoly? Hit the jump and post your thoughts.
not my point
Submitted by almax on Mon, 02/23/2009 - 7:27pm
I'm not disagreeing with your post (except for the "Microsoft doesn't have a chance" nonsense. Been hearing that for two decades) My post was direct at those who justify Google while talking crap about Microsoft. If a company has a monopoly, how they got there doesn't change that fact. Intentional or not, monopolies take away consumer choice, market innovation, and can easily lead to a violation federal antitrust laws.
Submitted by ratknight on Mon, 02/23/2009 - 6:25pm
They do not have a monopoly yet, b/c there are still 2 or 3 other providers. They are not gaining a monopoly because of lack of consumer choice, they are gaining it b/c the consumers are choosing them over their competitors, nothing more.
Submitted by almax on Mon, 02/23/2009 - 4:22pm
So many hypocrites.
Whether you think Microsoft is bad, or Google is good, has nothing to do with the term monopoly.
It all boils down to lack of consumer choice, and not the good or bad intentions of the companies in question.
The potential for abuse is what the law is about.
If all other seach engines
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Mon, 02/23/2009 - 2:49pm
If all other seach engines go out of business or get bought out by Google then they will have a monopoly.
Submitted by N25PHILLY on Mon, 02/23/2009 - 1:14pm
Step 1: develop tenth rate product
step 2: Add the word google to the front of the name
step 3: add beta the the end of it
step 4: watch idiots go nuts over it
Submitted by ratknight on Mon, 02/23/2009 - 10:48am
The whole idea of some oppurtunistic lawyers taking advantage of the fact that people enjoy using google is ridiculous. I mean, come on, google is a succesful company, who should not be punished because these lawyers are concerned. I used Yahoo as well... Google came out, and it was like a miracle, they don't have 30,000 other things on their frontpage, and its easy to use. I am sick of people taking shots at successful companies. In a world where the economy is down, most tech companies are laying people off, and there are only 3 major search engines, can't we just be happy that at least one of these search engines is doing what its consumers want it to do? Yahoo has barely changed in years, Microsoft doesn't have a chance, but google has continued to add services.
At what point do people start to yelp about Windows having such a heavy market share? They got there because the consumers put them there. Google will continue to thrive because it offers a free, no strings attached service, and a few people just can't handle their success.
Since when is a monopoly
Submitted by Mobius on Mon, 02/23/2009 - 9:50am
Since when is a monopoly created when people choose to use their product or service? I used to use Yahoo all the time. It was my start page. Then Google came out of the woodwork, and were offering a far better experience. Yes, they provide a lot more products for one stop shopping, but so does Walmart. People make a choice, and my choice is Google. I have no reason to go to the other sites, because Google can find the exact same content that they find, but without flashy images or distractions from what I am looking for.
Leave Google alone. They did nothing wrong, but improve themselves to what users want. I am sure if Microsoft put what the users wanted and not pushed, they would not have an issue at this time.
Just my 2 cents.
Submitted by mwinfie on Mon, 02/23/2009 - 9:23am
I do not consider Google a monopoly. They provide excellent services and indirectly make money from those services. I use Google Search, GMail, Reader, and Groups on a regular bases. Why? Not only is it convient to have access to all those thing from a single page but they are also very stylish and minimalistic.
And in reply to an above poste, you cannot put Google and Microsoft in the same boat. They are two completely different companies with two completely different approaches. Microsoft makes products that you buy to get money where as Google provides services in order to get you into thier domain and gets money from advertisers. Google supports open source with OpenOffice and Android which to me is the icing on the cake.
not sure
Submitted by Gailim on Mon, 02/23/2009 - 8:53am
personally I use Yahoo. I think they have a much better webpage than google. its more in the vien of the traditional web portal. its got oodles of stuff on it. people say google search is better. but I dont see it. Yahoo search is pretty good, granted I dont do web searches all that often. I have email accounts for both Yahoo and Gmail.
I dont know if you can consider google to be a "monopoly". its a web site. it searches. it doesnt offer a product and just because its the most popular web search doesnt mean there arent a plethora of other viable options. even if yahoo goes under
his is only because they're
Submitted by yogurt80 on Mon, 02/23/2009 - 8:44am
his is only because they're publicly traded. here products are free, and brilliant, so th only reason thisis an issue is because people have enough faith in them to buy stock in there company.
Submitted by routine on Mon, 02/23/2009 - 8:41am
Monopolies can only be created by government. When the government makes a law that says you can only buy x,y,z from company ABC -- that's a monopoly (ie: US Postal Service, AT&T, PanAm, Amtrak, etc).
Google is not a monopoly and neither is Microsoft.
Submitted by neo1piv14 on Mon, 02/23/2009 - 8:37am
I do feel pretty bad for Google on this one. They found a solid niche, did several things really well, and they're going to wind up being penalized and frowned upon because noone else does the same thing they do with anything close to the same level of compitency. With almost every service they offer, it's hard to find a genuinely good competitor. I don't see any reason to use anything but GMail for personal email, the calendar function works pretty well, and Google documents has been a failsafe place to store school/work docs that I can't afford to lose. And now thanks to the G1 and Android, they've got me pretty well hooked in my mobile world too.
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