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Next, Google Should Buy Wordpress
By Mark Evans | September 2, 2008
If Google’s decision to get into the browser business can be read as a bold/aggressive move to cement its online domination, then maybe it should acquire Wordpress.
Here’s the thinking behind such an audacious statement: If you look at the GBrowser (aka Chrome), it has the potential to be yet another will-use/must-use Google service (a la search, GMail, Google Earth, Docs, Google Maps, YouTube, etc.).
By launching Chrome, Google will not only have an ever-growing portfolio of services that drive billions of page views but a browser that will give it a platform to deliver even more people to its revenue-generating properties based on the concept that its own services will be tightly integrated.
So, here’s where Wordpress fits into the strategic scheme of things. Wordpress.com and Wordpress.org are page view machines - 6.5-billion/month (including 97.8 million unique visitors/month globally for Wordpress.com). Wordpress also has strong brand name and tremendous revenue potential that, to date, has been relatively untapped.
Google likes page views…a lot. Google likes to buy popular online services (e.g. YouTube), it has plenty o’ dough and a growing interest in user-generated content (e.g. Knol, YouTube, Panaramio).
As well, Automattic (which owns Wordpress.com) can be bought for the right price. Once you accept $29.5-million of venture capital, you’re essentially in play.
Granted, Google already has a blogging platform (Blogger.com) but Wordpress is a much sexier entity with more growth potential.
Think about how Google could jump-start Wordpress’ global footprint by integrating it into Chrome. You’re surfing using Chrome, see something that merits a blog post, and one quick click later, you’re writing.
Then, you layer on tight integration with YouTube, Google Maps and Panaramio. And then you bring AdWords/AdSense into the mix.
You see, Google-Wordpress makes complete sense. You heard it here first.
Update: Aaron Brazell, a Wordpress guru, has some thoughts about the future of Blogger and Wordpress, including his belief Google should leave Automattic alone. Hank Williams suggests IE6 still has 25% of the browser market, suggesting lots of users aren’t going to bother with Chrome.
Technorati Tags: chrome, Google , Wordpress
September 2nd, 2008 at 7:54 am
You’re talking about WordPress.com (Automattic). WordPress the platform is not owned by anyone as it’s an open source project.
September 2nd, 2008 at 8:10 am
Exactly.
September 2nd, 2008 at 8:18 am
doesn’t google already own a major blogging platform and blog host: blogger?
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:40 am
Ed,
You’re right; they do own Blogger but acquiring Wordpress.com would give them a bigger and better blogging platform.
September 2nd, 2008 at 11:06 am
I think it’s just as likely that Google could start their own WordPress powered blogging platform. Of course, there would be internal conflict with Blogger, but then there’s no reason that a WordPress powered blog platform could not be the replacement for Blogger.
At the end of the day, the real selling point between Blogger and WordPress.com, as free blog hosting competitors, is the management issue. WordPress.com gets high marks on the anti-splog front. Engineers could replicate the Blogger domain hosting as WP.com has. Engineers could counnter the WP.com restrictions around javascript by allowing javascript as they do on Blogger.
No reason why Google couldn’t use the WP open source platform to transform their crappy Blogger service if they wanted to.
That would, of course, pour loads of resources into the development of the software, something those of us in the WP community would welcome.
September 2nd, 2008 at 11:39 am
[...] Evans suggested this morning that Google buy WordPress.com for name recognition and platform familiarity. The idea is to bolster the suite of services that [...]
September 2nd, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Mark,
acquiring WP would certainly (in my eyes) give Google a better blogging platform but not a bigger on. Check out the disparity between blogger.com and wordpress.com on Alexa (not conclusive but certainly illustrative).
September 2nd, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Looking like a good idea.
Any way blog spot is also a good platform .
The flexibility it offers in editing the code is not offered by word press.
Free word press blog can not have third party ads like google.
Google has to integrate the good features of word press in blog spot( in fact it is trying to do so like giving option of comment form with blogspot draft…) and make it more attractive.
Two different platforms with one owner may effect the precepts of any one.
September 2nd, 2008 at 2:18 pm
+1 Aaron. I like my wordpress working and not-behind-iron-curtains thank-you-very-much
September 2nd, 2008 at 4:11 pm
[...] Google podría estar pensando en comprar también Wordpress: Tras Chrome en el mercado de los navegadores, Wordpress, en el de los blogs autoalojados. La potencia de la compañía es realmente excepcional y nos dirige hacia un monopolio que hace muy poco sólo imaginábamos… [...]
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:15 pm
[...] el nuevo navegador de Google, “Chrome”, me entero de que ahora prentende comprar Wordpress…uhmm…aquí huele a monopolio y yo no he [...]
September 3rd, 2008 at 10:29 am
How would buying WordPress be resolved with Google owning Blogger? It would be a two-way strategy - although perhaps that makes sense given that I’m still confused by Google launching Chrome just days after announcing their continued support of Mozilla Firefox.
Looks like someone likes to hedge their bets.
September 5th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
[...] Google should buy WordPress [...]
September 30th, 2008 at 5:02 am
Dear all,
If ever (!) Google would acquire WordPress I shall be the first to dump Wordpress. Google works for me for mail and maps and services like that. But my writing spot is to dear to me to hand it over into the arms of a company like Google. They behave themselves on the net like the banks did in the financial industry. In the end even Google will experience a downfall resulting from a lack of moral.
If indeed it might ever happen I will kickstart my own blogging server in stead, granting me independancy as a writer.
WordPress will stay open source, I sincerely hope.
And Google’s browser is not interesting for me anyway as I prefer Mac’s and - again - Google is slow in supporting OSX as a OS platform.
Last but not least of all I am not interested in a service connected to a simple browser like Chrome where I have a wonderful open source browser platform in FireFox.
Regards,
Alice