To print: Click here or Select File and then Print from your browser's menu

This story was printed from silicon.com, located at http://www.silicon.com/

Story URL: http://networks.silicon.com/webwatch/0,39024667,39131108,00.htm

Leader: Google, a media company?
The frenzy over a meaningless milestone

By silicon.com

Published: Thursday 09 June 2005

There has been a lot of talk in the past 24 hours about Google. Clearly there always is plenty of talk about that company but most recently it has focused on its market capitalisation overtaking that of Time Warner's, making it the world's largest media company.

Or at least that's what some people call them. This publication takes issue with such pigeon-holing.

The best article we have seen on the subject was by Stefanie Olsen at CNET News.com. Fair enough, we hold up our hands now - we haven't read every piece as this milestone was passed and News.com and silicon.com share a parent. But it mostly steered away from the whole question of 'media'.

However, even that piece made a passing comparison to sizes within a grouping comprised of Disney, TW and Viacom. Why not Microsoft, another company Google competes with, one that just happens to have a much higher market value?

The answer, of course, is all about money - and laziness. Since the bubble burst, no one wants to talk about internet stocks. A Google gets lumped in with real media companies on Wall Street. It was probably a tougher call than, say, Yahoo!, which for years did content through a portal, supported by advertising.

Google does indeed make money from ads - precise ads, determined by its secret-sauce search technology but ads nevertheless.

And if you don't call Google a media, internet or technology company, what do you call it?

Do Google staff see themselves as working for a media company or tech company? We're not about to ask them all but a trip to the infamous Googleplex will tell you it's the latter, at least among most of the rank and file.

So Google overtaking Time Warner is a milestone, of sorts. In the long term its ad revenue overtaking that of a TW or News Corp would - will? - be even more significant.

And Google overtaking Microsoft in size? Well, that's crystal-ball gazing for another time.