I have been interested in Google's approach to business and, like others, have been a bit wary about it as well (See this search of this blog for more). Thus, this item resonated with me, especially in combination with this item from the Washington Post (please be sure to read this follow-on from Tech Crunch in the spirit of completeness). This article over in BusinessWeek is another piece of the puzzle, I think, considering that gaming is a major profit business.
It seems clear that Google is building a platform and ecosystem. It is a for-profit corporation, so the question is not if but how this platform will be monetized, how it will compete with other platforms (Apple-centric and Microsoft-centric), and how switching costs will be imposed to deter defections from the platform. Google's interest in certain intellectual property around Android provides some evidence of this. Will monetization come from advertising revenues? Or will we see a series of user fees that will emerge after users are invested in the platform?
The questions matter because our government has historically gotten interested in platform competition and how it relates to control. These questions will be at the core of future anti-monopoly policy, I believe.
2 comments:
Google is moneytizing more and more lately, You-tube, greater emphasis on pay per click in search, image search etc.
They will find plenty of ways to increase their revenue streams as time goes on.
Google will invade mobile market in a few years, especially using Android. A new age of mobile marketing & advertising approaches.
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