newnetland

European Tech Analysis

Posted on 10. April 2013 Written by Marcel Weiss

Google tries to make a business succeed through having a huge amount of _flow_ in terms of data, traffic, queries and information that is indexed. So think about this idea of them tapping into a vast stream. The more volume that is flowing through the system the more revenue they generate. As so given this very rough analogy I try to sharpen it up by saying: imagine it more as a river. And even more than a river, as a watershed, a river basin. Perhaps a giant basin the size of a continent. The business is, let’s say, capturing fish at the mouth of the biggest river, before it exits into the ocean at its delta. And so your job (as Google) is to catch fish mostly at one point. It’s the most efficient way to catch fish because you have the most flow of water at that point and building nets is not trivial. But in order for you to improve your business, to create more opportunity, presumably, you want to essentially have more water flowing. And so how would you do that? Think of the Mississippi river. If you’ve got a net down at the bottom of the river, the question is how would you engineer, through civil engineering, or shaping the earth itself, a way of catching more fish. The answer I think, in terms of the way Google might be thinking, is that they want to create more sources of water. So they would look to connect tributaries and lakes. “How about having another river join our river?” Let’s make sure that we have “everything east of the Rockies” flow into our river system.

Making rain | asymco

That is a great analogy.

Googles business model puts them in a unique position. Big parts of the web became complementary goods to Google. But that is a concept that is not easy to grasp.

Related

Filed Under: Links Tagged With: google

Analysis and links to articles on the big picture of the tech industry and the networked information economy.

Author: Marcel Weiss is a writer, consultant and fighter for pareto-optima. He is thinking and linking from Berlin, Germany.

contact: marcel@neunetz.com

Marcel Weiss on LinkedIn
newnetland on Twitter
RSS-Feed

Subscribe by e-mail to newnetland (E-mails go out weekly, on Fridays.)

Recent Analysis

Implications of the Microsoft Wunderlist deal

Zoë Keating and the problem with streaming services being shop *&* record collection

Apple should review App Review

Would Microsoft fork Android? Not likely.

Define web platform

Recent Links

“What if Our Problems Aren’t Tech Problems?”

“We are not reaching 1.5ºC earlier than previously thought”

“The Digital Nomads Did Not Prepare for This”

“Various first words”

“Germany Drops Idea Of ‘Pre-Flagging’ Legal Uploads, Which Could Have Stopped EU Copyright Filters Blocking Memes, Parodies, Quotes And Creative Commons Material”

Categories

  • Analysis
  • Links
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Focus Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in