Since its inception, Google has exuded an aura of cool, calm and collected.
This obviously comes from top as Sergey Brin, Larry Page and Eric Schmidt have reputations as the confident, pragmatic and ambitious co-captains of the S.S. Google.
So, it seems strange that Google has come across looking so scattered and frazzled in reaction to Microsoft’s hostile bid for Yahoo. First, its chief legal beagle David Drummond writes a blog post that comes across as patronizing and disrespectful. Now, Brin makes a comment that Google finds the idea of a MSFT-YHOO marriage “unnerving” as well as a threat to the future of the Internet.
This is not only strange behavior but terrible public relations. It’s like Google is the most popular and good-looking kid in high school but can’t help but to openly diss the new kid on the block even though there is no threat.
Sadly, Google has decided to go public with its concerns as opposed to quietly working behind the scenes to delay or scuttle Microsoft’s plans. It makes Google comes across as not only the Internet’s dominant player but a pissed off and paranoid bully….and that’s a long way from its “Do No Evil” motto.
Links: Mashable’s Mark Hopkins has some good insights, including a suggestion that Google’s real issue is a Microsoft-Yahoo combination will make it more of a “nuisance” than they’ve been as standalone competitors.
2 Comments
I agree that Google’s reaction has been, for lack of a better word, lame, but they should not be “working behind the scenes to delay or scuttle Microsoft’s plans” – that would be just as lame.
Michael: Fair points. Strategically, I think it would be savvy for Google to put some hurdles in the way of its two biggest competitors getting together. Whether or not those efforts are successful is another matter.
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