Who Will Google Buy Next? 306
Androsynth writes "Kuro5hin is running an article entitled Who Will Google Buy Next?, which features a list of all Google's previous buyouts and some interesting suggestions for the future." A Google-buyout betting pool seems in order.
BUY ME !! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:BUY ME !! (Score:4, Funny)
Out of Beta? (Score:4, Insightful)
Rather than buy more companies, why not develop some of their current ideas beyond the point of "Beta".
Sometimes I think that Google uses the term Beta just to make users feel like their in some kind of exclusive, pre-release club. Beta as a branding concept. Who would have thought!?
Re:BUY ME !! (Score:2)
Slashdot (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Slashdot (Score:5, Funny)
Google'd get all the "in soviet russia" jokes anyone could ever want, though.
Re:Slashdot (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Slashdot (Score:2, Funny)
And your message. And mine now. Madness!
Re:Slashdot (Score:5, Funny)
In Soviet Russia [google.com] Google googles YOU!
And, it helps get your Insightful reading pleasure [google.com] for the day.
Also, some interesting [google.com] possibilities [google.com].
Yay for google.
Re:Slashdot (Score:3, Funny)
Slashdot of course. Imagine all the searchable insightful posts.
Nah... it would still be useless. We'll get dupes anyway... ;P
Re:Slashdot (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Slashdot (Score:2, Funny)
Yay! (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Yay! (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Yay! (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Yay! (Score:2, Funny)
re: Yay! (Score:2)
Mc Google's (Score:2, Funny)
Oh! Oh! (Score:3, Funny)
i think i speak for more than myself when i say... (Score:5, Funny)
or
"640 buyouts ought to be enough for anybody"
Re:i think i speak for more than myself when i say (Score:3, Informative)
GOOG Market Capitalization, 06/14/2005: $77.3B
It would be a really, REALLY difficult thing for MSFT to buy out GOOG. Esp since that wouldn't really give them ownership of the company, as the outstanding shares don't add up to 50% if I recall correctly.
Re:i think i speak for more than myself when i say (Score:3, Informative)
They also have close to $40bn in cash.
They could easily put together a half cash, half shares offer for Google at a very good price.
You are not comparing like with like - shareholders equity and market cap are altogether different things. In any case smaller companies can buyout bigger ones, by paying with shares in the combined business - however that is not necessary here.
Where you may be right is that Google is too closely held to be easy to buy - a few big shareh
Answered your own question (Score:2)
Yes. And assuming that debt == cash on hand is foolish.
Sorry.
Go ahead (Score:5, Insightful)
Go ahead. [etrade.com]
Somewhere, someone (Score:2)
Right at this moment, someone at VA Software sits expectantly near the phone... waiting... counting their LNUX stock...
Bookie (Score:4, Funny)
Certain things caught my eye (Score:4, Interesting)
Google Mobile? So are they making cell phones or something? I'm confused.
Buzznet - Yahoo! beat Google to the punch by acquiring Flickr, one of my candidates in the first draft of this article. Like Flickr, Buzznet is a photo hosting and sharing service that features unique tagging features. It is possible to browse by tag and see all sorts of interesting stuff. Buzznet would probably jibe with Picasa's Hello photo posting service, perhaps include some sort of photo-Blogger, and integrate well with Orkut.
I think this would do very well and could be a competitor to Imageshack.us. I also think they would integrate it w/ Picasa probably and Blogger.
Monster - Monster is the most popular job search site. Some bloggers have tossed this idea around, touting various forms of integration with other Google services. They also mention that Yahoo! owns HotJobs. However, one wonders whether Google is interested in this market at all.
Hmm...that'd be interesting to see
Anyone seen Epic? Epic [albinoblacksheep.com] is a mock 'history' presentation on Google from the POV of 2015. It's quite interesting and while the idea of this is creepy it'd be cool at the same time.
world media (Score:4, Interesting)
You forgot Keyhole [keyhole.com]. I think they read Snow Crash.
It seems like they are imagining a free (to the user) all-knowledge-and-communication-anywhere brought to you by anonymous infrastructure. The problem with their scheme is its all based on advertising. Bleagh.
Re:world media (Score:3, Insightful)
I see it and go, "great, more awesome free services that I don't have to pay for and all I have to put up with are a couple of ads on my screen!"
Holy Google Empire (Score:2, Funny)
Didn't someone predicted the future of Google be4? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Didn't someone predicted the future of Google b (Score:3, Insightful)
Who Will Google Buy Next? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Who Will Google Buy Next? (Score:2)
Or Googleplex. Duh.
Do no Evil (Score:2)
Don't think there are any profitable non-evil companies in corporate America to absorb...
Re:Who Will Google Buy Next? (Score:2)
Re:Who Will Google Buy Next? (Score:2)
Media and Distribution (Score:2)
In the form of RealNetworks and Sirius Satellite.
Slashdot (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Slashdot (Score:4, Insightful)
My Money Is On: (Score:5, Interesting)
I think VoIP is about to hit a tipping point and Google can cash in on it quick by acquiring Skype. Get rid of the stupid name, bring on some Google quality branding and user experience and people will be bidding on eBay for accounts just like Okurit and gMail. The Google brand and marketing power can bring Skype the thing that any network needs to succeed- users.
It would be a very inexpensive acquisition for Google and it would add a sort of voice infastructure into the entire Google range of products.
Re:My Money Is On: (Score:2)
Re:My Money Is On: (Score:5, Funny)
Re:My Money Is On: (Score:2)
Yea, that is a good point you've got there... Orkut is about the worst branded name ever. I can never remember it.
Re:My Money Is On: (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:My Money Is On: (Score:2)
What's wrong with "Orkut"? It reminds me of Orko from Masters of the Universe when I was a kid. Man, he was the sexiest purple-clad, invisible, floating dwarf *ever*.
Re:My Money Is On: (Score:2, Insightful)
They've been buying dark fiber for a while. They also became a domain registrar. Fiber + domains = hosting, almost every time.
If I were EV1, ServINT, ThePlanet, GoDaddy, ServerBeach, etc, I'd be hoping for the phone call.
Re:My Money Is On: (Score:3, Insightful)
Rumor is Yahoo is talking with Skype (Score:2)
I don't think that would really work (Score:2)
I think Google would be better served by buying out a company that makes GPS software. That way they could build a system that would allow Google to integrate advertisements into the GPS system. They could work on a GPS system that passively retrieves geogr
Re:My Money Is On: (Score:2)
Whatever google buys they have to be able to put their standard crapload of ads into. There are too many ad-less VoIP clients out there.
Not a good match.
Well well (Score:2, Funny)
Well, it should be obvious--they've stated that they're going to cruise around downtown in a van, so it sounds like they're going to start buying hookers.
This is probably the first significant indicator of evil...
Real Estate (Score:2, Funny)
Stumble Upon (Score:2)
The choice is obvious (Score:5, Funny)
Google should buy zombo.com [zombo.com]
You heard it here first.
Re:The choice is obvious (Score:2)
Re:The choice is obvious (Score:2)
Re:The choice is obvious (Score:2)
Wow, I think I'm dyslexic... (Score:2)
Thus I proved the real three stages of denial:
1) What? How could they do that?
2) What? I jsut don't understand!
3) Oh, wait, nevermind, I'm just a dumbass.
More Possible Google Spinoffs (Score:5, Funny)
Smithsoogle -- the library digitization project gone insane.
Google Bitches -- Like friendster but for pimps.
Google Jobs -- nope, not what you think...it's actually Steve Jobs since his soul seems to be up for sale lately.
Google.gov -- DHS meets Patriot Act meets all your data. Pledge your allegiance, boys, and come to grips with the fact that we're all screwed.
Re:More Possible Google Spinoffs (Score:2, Funny)
Google and FvckedCompany (Score:2)
Re:More Possible Google Spinoffs (Score:2, Funny)
Joogle - Discount Menorahs Online
DrCoop.com is renamed Achoogle
Floogle - Jazz Instrument Online Database
Poogle - Same Shit, Different Website
Google.gov (Score:3, Funny)
how about invest in internet 2 (Score:2)
Bring highspeed ondemand network to the people.
Broadband has been hijacked by the corporates and it isn't as fast as they want you to think.
Re:how about invest in internet 2 (Score:2)
Broadband has been hijacked by the corporates and it isn't as fast as they want you to think.
Yes, I can see how having the world's largest media company build a new Internet would keep it out of the hands of the "corporates".
MySpace (Score:2, Interesting)
My 2 Guesses (Score:3, Insightful)
2) EBay
Re:My 2 Guesses (Score:2)
Lucky Lucky Google (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Lucky Lucky Google (Score:2, Insightful)
It exists (Score:5, Insightful)
There is a place where you get money for guessing something like this. It's called the stock market
My thoughts... (Score:2)
Two: GIS. Purchase some of the providers of the data for your Google Maps. Purchase the
Australia maps? (Score:2)
Re:Australia maps? (Score:2, Informative)
Yeah, that's a very interesting one. Sensis is quite fascinating in and of itself. There's been a lot of talk that parent company Telstra (Australia's half-government-owned telecommunications near-monopoly behemoth -- think the Aussie equivalent of AT+T before the break-up) wants to sell off Sensis as it's worth a mint and is a quick way to inject some cash. Maybe Google would want part/all of it?
Sensis has a few businesses that seem to 'fit' google to varying degrees:
Grammar police, pull over... (Score:3, Funny)
Really. "Whom". It's not so hard.
Re:Grammar police, pull over... (Score:2)
Re:Grammar police, pull over... (Score:3, Funny)
Overpriced? Comparison to eBay (Score:4, Insightful)
Not that GOOG isn't profitable (and only will go up up in the future thanks to their BRILLIANT, calculated moves) but it's probably WAY overpriced right now. eBay on the other hand makes money from so many ways through it's auction service and float money from Paypal plus eBay has had the time to be subjected to market correction.
GOOG stock is set to be corrected to reality anytime now. It's gonna be ripe for the shorting soon.
How about Apple? (Score:2)
How about _both_ Apple and Intel?
And IBM?
Eventually: (Score:2)
Who Google Will Buy (Score:5, Interesting)
Well, why not ?
Google could unleashing searching on the DVR's. This would allow users to just input a search term and have it record all episodes that the term returned in results. Who needs the TV guides or tvtome anymore ?
I'm not the only who predicts it -
[flash video] http://www.robinsloan.com/epic/ [robinsloan.com]
Re:Who Google Will Buy (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Who Google Will Buy (Score:4, Interesting)
http://groups-beta.google.com/ [google.com] ==> Blogger.com
http://images.google.com/ [google.com] ==> Picasa
http://maps.google.com/ [google.com] ==> Keyhole
and as you say
http://video.google.com/ [google.com] ==> Tivo
Maybe we could also see:
http://scholar.google.com/ [google.com] ==> CiteSeer
http://print.google.com/ [google.com] ==> University of Michigan, Harvard University, Stanford University, The New York Public Library, and Oxford University now
http://news.google.com/ [google.com] ==> News Corporation
http://www.google.com/ig [google.com] ==> Yahoo
I don't know, there's probably more, but it's nearing 4 so I better go to bed.
Google should have a page for posting to (Score:2)
CYCORP !!! (Score:2)
it's a project so ambitious (it will take those guys other 15 years to come up with something IMO) that only google can afford to sponsor it
on the other hand, if such a thing will be successfull, it would really be the next very big thing in technology since the internet
Amazon (Score:2)
BFG! (Score:2)
My prediction: a credit card company (Score:3, Interesting)
Yes it's a diabolical though, but hey there not evil
Re:I wonder... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:I wonder... (Score:2)
Re:I wonder... (Score:2)
McWinUx
Re:I wonder... (Score:2)
most of these mergers are about putting up barriers to entry to keep more efficient companies out of the marketplace. If you have a big enough marketshare with exclusive deals with the suppliers, you don't need to be efficient.
Re:I wonder... (Score:2, Interesting)
But, there are some circumstances where larger businesses are not necessarily inefficient, and the Internet is one of these.
But if you're looking for an example of smaller businesses succeeding, then opening up the local yellow pages (or, God
Re:I wonder... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:I wonder... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:I wonder... (Score:3, Funny)
A guy walks in, and he's looking for an expensive piece of equipment for his home entertainment sytem. He tells my dad, "I don't want any of this 'Made in Mexico' crap. I want something American. Like Sony."
Re:Don't Forget What Google's Mission Is (Score:3, Funny)
Re:The question is: who will buy Google (Score:2)
Re:How about Kuro5hin? (Score:2)
K5 users on Slashdot have already modded down my post, even if it is mostly the truth about K5.
I left K5 long ago, it is like the Titanic and Rusty and crew are too busy rearranging the deck chairs to patch the huge gaping hole in their service. Trolls run rampant and only trolls with viewpoints the editors don't agree with get anonymized. Yet even that is pointless as the anonymized trolls keep coming back with new accounts. The editors are the K5 Cabal, and often troll with