Google and Corporate Protectionism

I've been struggling to make sense of the Google/YouTube merger that was announced earlier this week, mentioned here in this blog. I'm not seeing the point of it, and my concerns seem to be somewhat vindicated given how quickly legal action has been threatened against the newly acquired provider of loads of copyrighted and illegally shared media.

Then it occurred to me that perhaps this story isn't about any of the potential technology or synergy or cultural issues that people are talking about. This story is about a shift in Google's corporate culture.

Google has done quite a bit of innovative and interesting work. Their search is their bread and butter but they deserve to be respected for so much more. Gmail, Google Maps, Earth and News either redefined the playing field that they entered or opened up whole new arenas of competition.

And then there was Google Video. There's nothing to love about Google Video. It works, but since it was late to the game and brought nothing really new or exciting to suggest it, nobody really got enthused about it. Google themselves never really seemed all that excited about Video - though Google is known for their spartan design aesthetic, they did an even worse job than usual slapping together the Video interface. And their commercial section has been a laughable competitor in the face of iTunes dominance.

Now, I understand that you don't always hit the ball out of the park every time you come to the plate. But Google just gave up, didn't even try to compete - this is why they bought YouTube. Google wants to be #1 in every area they engage, and they weren't getting there with their homegrown Video. Rather than persist, build a better product, make innovations and compelling improvements, they went with the established player.

And payed $1.65 billion for it.

This is standard corporate behavior. Let somebody else take the risk and snap up whatever rises to the top. Google, in their ever so brief time on top, has already undergone the transformation from tech innovator to corporate leviathan.

That didn't take long.