Is Google becoming the next Microsoft ?

[dan_at_uwa]

So, is anyone going to buy Google stock when it floats this year ?

I think there may be short term profits (if anyone can get their head around the so-called Dutch Auction system they plan to use for the sale), but Wall Street was so damaged by the dot.com boom-bust I can't imagine anyone investing for the long term. It will be a case of investing with caution, and pulling out at the first sign of trouble, in my opinion.

Search technologies come and go. How can Google protect their market share from the upstarts - except by leveraging their immense size, their financial power, and their ability to buy up or ruin the competition until they have a monopoly.

If the world's investors really do pour 2.7 billion dollars into the business - how long before Google becomes the next Microsoft ?

Now, THAT'S a scary thought !!!

I'd appreciate your opinions ... before I call my broker ;)

Dan

PS. I posted this in the Search Engine forum too

[buntine]

Well. its definetely a scary thought, though; i dont think Google will be the next Microsoft.

Its interesting how Google has taken over the Yahoo empire. I have read all about Jerry Yang (Founder), however, i would like to read up about Googles history before i would invest. The short term profits could be beneficial. ;)

By the way, what suburb are you in? I might live next door. (Now, thats probably even a scarier thought!)

Regards,
Andrew Buntine.

[dan_at_uwa]

Hey Andrew

I'm in Cottesloe. How about you :)

Yep, you're right about the short term profits. Somebody has to get rich, I guess, so it might as well be us ;)

But I've been reading a bit about it, and Google's "softly, softly" approach to business seems to hide deeper darker business ambitions that I expect will emerge even more forcefully when the company is suddenly responsible to its public shareholders, and the drive for profits outweighs the founders' original philosophies.

That was basically the story with Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL.

I'm not suggesting the Google float should be stopped in some way - good luck to them - but I see this as (maybe) the beginning of Google's decline from Heavenly Internet Darling to Hellish Corporate Monopoly. Time will tell, I guess :)

I hope you're having a good weekend.

Dan

[buntine]

True, the step up from the "labour of love" to the "anything for money" mentality is all too fimiliar nowadays in the IT, or more precisely the Web industry.

I think it will be safe to invest in the company when they go public, but as you stated, i dont think the looonnnggg-term returns will be anything worth waiting for.

I am in Padbury, weekends been good.;)

Regards,
Andrew Buntine..

[rhsunderground]

Originally posted by buntine
Its interesting how Google has taken over the Yahoo empire
i also find it interesting that for many searches done in the two engines, you can get VERY different results.

[Aronya1]

Originally posted by rhsunderground
i also find it interesting that for many searches done in the two engines, you can get VERY different results.
Thank god! Since the last revision at Google, the results returned on a search are too often way off the mark. I have a client who sells corrective shoe inserts. A search on a specific related term brings MY site back as #4. I only have a link to their site. Nothing else related to the product or the term. Their site doesn't even show up on that same search. Go figure.

[PeOfEo]

Google just became public, if microsoft felth threatoned they would perform a hostile corperate takeover. The have the ability to buy 51% of that company easy.
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peo's market corner
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defence stocks , such as general dynamics (quote / compared to raytheon (http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?t=my&s=GD&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=rtn)) always a safe buy, but on the tech front I would really put my cash in amd (quote /comparison with intel (http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?t=1d&s=AMD&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=intc)). They have their new amd64, which gave them a boost, but I have heard through the grape vine that they are working on a new processor that will have 2 cores on one die, it has its equiv to ht so it will look like running 4 processors through task manager, they will really gain some ground with that.

Windixie (quote (http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=WIN&t=my)) would be something to put your cash in, they are selling real low, almost a penny stock, underselling I think. My dad is probably going to buy some of that later this week.

time warner/aol seems to be doing well http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ao?s=TWX

also, this is probably a shot in the dark, but summer is comeing up, and the ac will be running, thus a major increase in power usage. I would not invest in enerdy companies, but rather csx (quote (http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=CSX&t=1d)) who would be shipping coal to the nation's coal fire plants on the east coast. Analists think http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ao?s=CSX . CSX is a always a good thing to have though because it pays a great dividend, I own a bunch of it myself. It has put a nice pile onto my trust fund.

I was watching forbes (http://www.foxnews.com/freedom/index.html) the other day, so I can pretend to know about what is going on in the stock market right now lol.

[scottymac]

Originally posted by PeOfEo
time warner/aol seems to be doing well http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ao?s=TWX hehe, nice to hear; they own the atlanta braves, some old frend made me a fan, and we need the money for a higher payroll. keep sheffield and fick and lopez away, maybe castilla is willing to come back, he said he loves the braves, and king, bobby cox.

you really know your stock market :)

PS, please note its no longer AOL Time Warner, we now call them just Time Warner. hehe, Braves fan, you learn a lot from watchng the man, Ted Turner, get stars at Turner Field in atlanta :)

[PeOfEo]

lol nahh I do not really know the stock market. I know how it works, but I have not been following the market. I just know what stocks I own and how they are doing. :p

[dan_at_uwa]

Originally posted by Aronya1
Thank god! Since the last revision at Google, the results returned on a search are too often way off the mark. I have a client who sells corrective shoe inserts. A search on a specific related term brings MY site back as #4. I only have a link to their site. Nothing else related to the product or the term. Their site doesn't even show up on that same search. Go figure.

Interesting !!

I have a 3 year old business site that was No.1 in a Google search of "business name" + "my surname", until it got relegated to No.3 by my University lecturer who quoted my business name and my surname on the course home page !!

... I guess he has more links, but my site has been on the web for longer, which makes you wonder - if Google base their search order on the number of links - just how accurate that really is !!

[dan_at_uwa]

Originally posted by PeOfEo
Google just became public, if microsoft felth threatoned they would perform a hostile corperate takeover. The have the ability to buy 51% of that company easy.


Good point ! And maybe a real risk for Google once their stock becomes public trading material !

I wonder if they are selling more than 51% of their stock in the first place ! If so, I reckon Bill Gates might be first in the queue !

Now, would a Microsoft takeover bid increase the value of Google stock, or decrease it ? - a question for PeOfEo, I think :)

[buntine]

Too unpredictable for me.. I dont know enough about the current trends.

Though, i do know that if Microsoft thought that Google was going to become another massive corporate monopoly; they would have no problems getting rid of them, or atleast putting them in their place.

By the way, could one of the mods move this thread to the 'Business Matters' forum? I think it would be more suited there.

Regards,
Andrew Buntine.

[neil9999]

Originally posted by buntine
By the way, could one of the mods move this thread to the 'Business Matters' forum? I think it would be more suited there.

I thought you were a mod...

[scottymac]

not in this forum, and only mods of the forums, or admins can move threads

[DaveSW]

and super mods ;)