Google Thoughts
Here’s a nice overview of Google’s new language, Go, by Scott Gilbertson over at Webmonkey. Includes a 1-hr video on Go developer Rob Pike.
From the Chromium blog Google announces that it has an early-stage research project for something they call SPDY (“speedy!”), the purpose of which might be to replace the HTTP protocol.
Techchrunch claims to have heard that Google’s Chrome OS (that would be OS, not Chrome browser) is close to launch.
Programming language improvements. Make the web faster. Build a better OS.
Ultimately Google’s biggest strength might not be any one particular offering, possibly not even its search engine. It has systematized methods to encourage its developers to aggressively innovate while not losing focus on improving the core, revenue-producing businesses. If an enterprise involves itself in as many frontiers as Google does, it does not have to find success in everything that it tries (and it does not). In an environment changing as fast as the internet is today, failure lies in not extending yourself. Try everything, because no one can know where it’s all going.
For years, some naysayers in the investment community disparaged Google for being a one trick pony revenue-wise. Between acquisitions like YouTube, which is now making a profit, and a culture of tech disruption the likes of which can be found nowhere else on the planet including Apple, Google wins by keeping everybody else on their toes. Note how often new Google offerings are not incremental improvements, but instead meta re-imaginings of the current techscape. What comes after HTTP?
With enormous companies the danger is rarely trying something new and failing at it. The danger is not staying ambitious enough. By segmenting its collective efforts so that individuals or small groups are also allowed to pursue interests about which they are passionate, Google may have hit upon a way to weave vibrant small-scale ambition into its enormity.
