What's up with Google?

Several years ago a friend introduced me to Google Maps. At the time, MapQuest was king, but MapQuest presented a tiny square on a page that painfully refreshed as you scrolled or zoomed. Google Maps was entirely different and now we take it for granted. But the way a map was presented via tiles, the size of the map, and the speed of panning was amazing. That mapping is so pervasive, even MapQuest works that way today (does anyone use MapQest anymore?).

This was roughly the same time as Gmail was introduced, and everything that Google did was impressive. Google was developer paradise; the place where all software engineers dreamed of working. Its’ reputation of encouraging innovation was, and is, beyond all others. Even the Google doodle, the sometimes funny and irreverent logo presented on its’ search page, was creative. All of that creativity is funded by the immense engine of search; ad supported search.

The company is still a financial juggernaut. Remember the IPO? They set their price at $85; it’s now $547.

With all its’ growth and success; with all its’ creativity and innovation; I still sit back and wonder: what’s up with Google? I have never known any other company that has thrown more ideas, poorly executed ideas, into the marketplace. It’s although the company simply operates on a “try it and see what happens” strategy. As examples, look at this list…

• ·         Orkut
• ·         Google Wave
• ·         Buzz
• ·         Google Health
• ·         Google X
• ·         Google Video
• ·         Google Answers

You could argue that the crazy popular acquisition, YouTube, may never make money. And the critically acclaimed Google Docs remains an also-ran next to Office, which even as a web application is far superior. The jury is out on Google Music and Google+, but the company doesn’t compete well with entrenched players like Apple and Facebook, especially on their own ground.

So what’s my point here? I guess I am stunned and amazed at the search giant’s success. I find it incredible that a company can grind out such a large number of failures. And yet to this day, any developer worth their salt would go there in a heartbeat. The businessman in me would advise them to stick to their success, but the inventor in me loves the way they keep trying.