

The Omnigoogle - bdfh42
http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2008/09/google_at_10.php

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staticshock
_Google differs from Microsoft in at least one very important way. The ends
that Microsoft has pursued are commercial ends. It's been in it for the money.
Google, by contrast, has a strong messianic bent. The Omnigoogle is not just
out to make oodles of money; it's on a crusade - to liberate information for
the masses - and is convinced of its righteousness in pursuing its cause._

What? How can he conclude _that_ after spending several pages examining how
liberating information is commercially beneficial to google? I'm sure I can
look at early Microsoft in the same light, if I so choose. No, the difference
isn't the perceived righteousness of their crusade, but their keen ability to
stay righteous. They haven't fucked up in any big way yet. How long did it
take Microsoft to start fucking up?

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zandorg
But there's still a market for expensive one-time downloads of academic PDFs.
For instance, I spent $12.95 on a PDF which gave me tons of useful information
and is just a business expense that pales in terms of other expenditures.

Also, a lot of webpages exist just to provide information, and aren't bothered
about revenue, and you won't find Google ads on, say, Geocities pages.

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jpd
True, but while many do not have google ads on them, many do as well. By
expanding access to the internet and by expanding the amount of information
displayed on the internet, it will improve upon the amount of people who use
Goodle Advertising. If Google makes the internet available to 360,000 more
people, and 10,000 new web sites start using their adwords, they'll have
dramatically increased their profit margin. Not only will the new sites on
their advertising bring in money, but all the new people now clicking on their
ads will too. Win-win.

So, you are right. Not everyone is bothered about revenue, and not everyone
uses their advertisements, but more people online and more websites online
means that Google will make more money.

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mtw
someone knows btw if there is an alternative to google adwords for web
startups? for instance, what ad platform would suit Hacker News?

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cglee
_...and is convinced of its righteousness in pursuing its cause._

Reminds me of the noble end pursued by the Machines/Robots in I,Robot.

