Google's 2006 NetScape Moment Recalled

Om Malik calling Google's biggest problem, ie that it is no longer a growth stock and thus attractive to "the talent" as it is harder to Get Things Done:

I don’t think rivals (including upstarts) have the ability to stop Google’s financial steamroller. It will continue to be a dominant force in search and online advertising for years to come. But if it doesn’t reign in its talent problem, the company will have a long-term crisis on its hands. It was exodus of talent and inability to get things done that has brought giants of the past, Yahoo for example, to their knees.

For the longest time Google has been the beacon for the smartest and most talented people in the world, especially from an engineering perspective. If these super-smart people start getting frustrated by their inability to get anything done, then they are going to follow Rasmussen to somewhere else where they can find a more receptive and nurturing environment.

In the end that is the single biggest problem for Google.

Never mind the receptive and nurturin stock options that are a far better call at Facebook, 2 years pe-IPO

Hate to say "we predicted this" - but we did....in October 2006 after the GooTube Gambit wnen we wrote:

This is their Netscape Moment, when it becomes clear they are not really in the vanguard for the next wave.

Heres why:

(i) They clearly no longer “get it” - they have developed N new businesses in the past few years , few of which have really taken off, while all around them a new wave of creativity has started apace.

(ii) I don’t know how much was spent on Google Video, but even with all their king’s horses and men, they couldn’t get it together and a bunch of guys came from nowhere and stole the show.

(iii) They have already IPO’d and it is now (very) clear that the cool stuff (and increasingly the wealth) is being created elsewhere - how to retain the creative talent will be an increasing issue…

(iv) …especially as the thundering herd of the rest of VC community now tries to back every Bubble 2.0 company going. A million flowers will bloom, many will wither but some will flourish…

(v) …and Google can’t buy them all. Its share of mind and money must be diluted.

Hm.....probably a bit harsh re "not getting it"...thats not quite true, it becomes harder to "implement it" - its more that its just harder as previous Googletoes have to be stepped on to make new things happen

Some things are just, like, so predictable. Four years later there are now N++ new businesses tried and failed, bought and failed etc etc. Google is now a fully fledged Big Corporation, with all that it entails.