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Gauging Google's Gaffes
conq writes "BusinessWeek has a piece looking at some of the recent faux pas of Google and what implications they might have. The articles's conclusion: They should hire a chief marketing officer to avoid such gaffes. From the article: 'Recent missteps that have whipsawed or irked investors include the inadvertent release of sales projections and an agreement to censor its own search results in China. Then on Mar. 8, Google used a vaguely worded blog on its site to disclose a settlement of as much as $90 million in a case concerning click fraud. That came days after the company said the case was without merit and told investors the impact of click fraud on advertisers is immaterial.'"
Call me a conspiratorialist- But I think that things like the "accidental" release of the slides showing the planned online hard drive backup thing, are planned.
And another thing- They may or may not be a great company- I am not here to argue that, but they are made up of people- and as such, mistakes will be made.
The real question is, is it hubris to think that google can do what it wants, instead of what wal street wants, and still stay so valuable (on paper)?
And All I Ask is a Tall Ship And a Star to Steer Her By
How can a company which is depending on the advertise business, stockholders and operation on world level between all the cultural disputes (China) stay an not evil company? Who decides: the clients, a nation or the stockholders?
Besides that, what good is a google application which shares as a unwanted side-effect sensitive business documents without the knowledge of the respected companies?
When it comes down to money,some evil stockholders, countries or clients will take on the power game. And I guess it will heappen when google has a real bad financial quarter. So we have to wait for that for a while I guess. We'll see how google will evolve.
Because--as we all know--companies that do have Chief Marketing Officers never commit any PR gaffes. You can never have enough management!
You have a "love/hate relationship" with Google because you're running a website. My experience is that it's mainly webmasters and advertisers that have any dislike of Google, because they're so relentless at protecting the interests of their users.
Google should just keep doing what it wants and ignore the people in New York who seem to think they can't be ignored...
Ahh, so they should continue to misrepresent information to shareholders? They should reap the financial benefits of the system but not be held accountable by the same system? Remember, "the investors" aren't just the guys trading in NY, there are tons of folks and organzations that invest other folks money that are also "investors" and they are being just as irked and feel like Google is not operating is a straight forward manner.
It continues to amaze me that crap that Google does is seen as innovative and being a maverick shaking up the establishment, but the same deeds done by other companies would be universally condemned. If M$ did similar stuff everyone would be all up in arms. It's funny what cult of personality will do for you, that and a catchy tag line "do no evil". Reminds me of the schlocky 80's flick where Dolf Lundgren plays the alien that blows people away while stating (quite deadpan may I add) "I mean you no harm". I picture Dolf with the words "Google" tatooed to his head and all the gFanBoys drooling while mesmerized and chanting "I mean you no harm" while Dolf casually blows them into oblivion, all the while the other gFanBoys stating that "he must of deserved it".
If more compainies start doing this, analysists will be out of a job, and need to learn calculus first. A lot of analysists just do seat-of-the-pants based on reports. Google isn't giving them any material, which stabalizes GOOG.
Inventions have long since reached their limit, and I see no hope for further development.-- Frontinus, 1st cent. AD
Google went public when it became a corporation and sold shares on the open market. They now have an implacable stakeholder, the share owners. Their duty (by law) is now to maximize shareholder value. They can no longer behave as they did previously. If they think they can they should consider the example of Conrad Black who was brought low by the shareholders of Holinger.
Corporations generally behave like psychopaths. The people running them may be wonderful decent people but the corporations still behave in an anti-social manner. It will be not too many years before "Do no evil" becomes just a pleasant corporate memory.
(/rant)
Playing the Wall Street Game isn't Google's game.
Just be glad, Wall Street, that they even let you in to play.
Technology -- No Place For Wimps! Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia Chatroom -- http://www.wemissjerry.org
Well, Google bought and monopolize huge Usenet archive that goes back years and years. So it would such if google dried up and died. Actually, since they're really keen on all kinds of other publishers 'giving it up for the public good' they should do as well. I would think a ten volume DVD-ROM set would probably cover the Usenet archive (minus binaries) up 'til about 1998 or so... So google should release that, to anybody who wants to buy a copy. At a reasonable 'people friendly' price... What does a Ten DVD box set cost at WalMart again???
The shairholders walked into this FULLY INFORMED, or at least the should have. Google said they would not be giving guidence in the treditional way that Wall Street has become accustom. None of this should come as a surprise. There has bee full disclosure, and now that a few of the buyers don't like the situation, they want to change the rules.
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
It's sort of naive to assume that these things are 'gaffes'. There is no reason to believe that they are not all intentional.
The article is saying these gaffes are hurting google, but personally, I'm not seeing google hurt at all... Maybe they are alot smarter than they are getting credit for.
Big ones, small ones, some as big as yer 'ead!
Give 'em a twist, a flick o' the wrist...
By and large it is not the shareholders that are asking for guidance, it's financial advisors looking for guidance. Google issued statements on what they will and will not do before the stock was available public, so if people bought stock without looking at these statements, then they don't have anything to complain about. The people who bought stock second hand from those that actually got in on the IPO (back when it was what... $50 a share?) have even less to complain about, as they should have actually taken a look at the terms that Google set forth and what rights the initial stockholders were allowed to transfer.
I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
like their relentlessly protected the interest of their chinese users?
Google made compromises which they felt were in the best interest of the Chinese Users. Their options were 1)be banned by the chinese government or 2)censor the results. Now google censors the results, but at the very least tells the users that results are being cesored per Chinese Law. This is information that, as far as I know, other search engines do not reveal. Letting the Chinese people know which information is being censored is the first step in getting that censored information to them, as it will spark curiosity in the rebelious who know that something is wrong with the system, and now have actual evidence.
I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
Earlier this week suggestions that Apple needs a Security Czar, now that Google needs a CMO. Next week: Microsoft needs a good CEO, CTO, CSO and CMO, RedHat needs a Chief Hackers Officer and Novell a Kernel Czar.
I am also looking for a job, but I'm not suggesting new (unnecessary/redundant) jobs to any company's I would like to work at.
Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
You are an anonymous jackass who stubbornly refuses to learn the rules of the capital market. No one forced you to buy, no one is forcing you to hold. Stop braying and sell the stock, jackass.