Google becoming a monopoly - My view

I wrote a small blog post on my personal views and opinions on the matter of Google becoming a potential monopoly in the web-world.

http://www.kyleeggleston.com/google/google-is-getting-good-at-monopoly

This is just my personal blog with my personal opinions. No affiliation with any company.

I'd like to hear what others think on this matter.


-Kyle

 

I think that Wal-Mart is becoming more of a monopoly that Google, but that's just my personal opinion. There are still too many other companies out there that have a nice chunk of the online earnings for Google to be considered a monopoly.

 

There is no such thing as a monopoly without government making them a monopoly. If I wanted to, I could start a search engine and compete with google. The only monopolies in existence are government aided ones. Example. United States Postal Service (USPS). That is a monopoly. No one else in the U.S. is allowed to deliver first class mail. (Letters). It is ILLEGAL for anyone to deliver letters except the usps. Go try it. Start delivering letters on your block, and if the post office finds out, it's a federal crime. In Bergan county, NJ, I have to buy my gas from a private company named PSE&G (Public Service Enterprise Group). There are no other companies to buy gas/electricity from for my home. No other companies because the government said "PSE&G is the ONLY company ALLOWED To sell gas / electricity to Bergan county, Nj. If I wanted to compete with PSE&G, I would be locked up by the government immediately. Google is not a monopoly, nor is Microsoft. Anyone can compete against them. No one can compete against the Postal Service in regards to first class mail (letters), or PSE&G. I chucked when you mentioned Wal-mart being a monopoly. WalMart does so much for this country you have no idea. If you were to get rid of Walmart, YOu would have 2 million unemployed Americans. Walmart employs almost as many people as the entire Chinese army. The single biggest private employer in the United States. Why don't you provide some backup before you make stupid accusations like "Walmart is becoming a monopoly". There can't be a monopoly without government MAKING someone a monopoly.

 

I have had this discussion before with some people.

Think of the idea of a monopoly. The problem with [most] monopolies is that they drive out their competitors, then they can raise the prices to eventually screw the population, and since they are the biggest, they can. However, if Google dominated 99% of the market, how can they "higher" their prices on anything? Almost everything they give is free, and the money they make off advertising is a win-win situation for everyone. That is the big difference between Wal-Mart (who sells stuff) vs. Google (who gives stuff for free, efficiently).

Just my 2 cents.

 

Agree with the two pennies that pjk offered, I do. The only thing I can see happening is that they start giving less and less money to their publishers. But, if they do that, someone WILL step up and make another type of PPC company. It's inevitable.

 

USPS isn't a monopoly, at least not my impression of a monopoly.

 

Two things about that:

1. Walmart won't become a monopoly anytime soon simply because of the industry that they're in. Retailing is such a huge industry that there is always room (usually) for a new competitor. Most of what Walmart does is expand their stores, find companies that make products, and basically "host" that companies products while Walmart gets a cut.

Google's industry is the web. The web... well I don't think I need to explain to you how large the web is and how revolutionary it really is. I mean, it's going in the history books.

2. The web's market is mostly controlled by those 3 search engines (MSN, Google, Yahoo!). So I would disagree that "too many companies have good chunks of earnings".

 

Even MSN and Yahoo being there makes it difficult for them to become monopolies. Then you have Ask with their new ad company coming out that might actually be worthy. Live is...well...difficult to say the least, but it is still there. The point is this. Wal-Mart destroys mom and pop stores left and right by offering CHEAP products. They use what money they have and slam prices so low. They buy 10 million units and distribute it around so that buying a television from them only costs 50 bucks, but they only paid five bucks. Wal-Mart is destroying the market considerably, but what can you do? It's cheap and people like cheap.

 

Hahaha. You have no idea what a monopoly is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service#Statutory_monopoly

Some things are up for debate, whether we should be in Iraq or not, but this is concrete fact. The United States Postal Service is a monopoly.

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And to all you people who think google can "Control prices", You're wrong. If google charges more, Guess what? i'll copy them, and do the same thing, but charge less. You have to understand that when prices go up, demand goes down. Less people would use their services if prices went too high. The fact is, That you are LEGALLY ALLOWED to compete with google. In a MONOPOLY you are NOT LEGALLY allowed to compete with a company because the government THROWS YOU IN JAIL if you TRY To compete.

 

You're a little confused. What Google is doing involves gathering a large amount of information and using it to serve the public (that's what a search engine does). When a company gets good at this, it has this kind of a power; and all you need to do is serve ads or sell a product or service (even if it's cheap).

Sure you can copy Google and remake their inventions... but you don't have their user base and publicity power. Google's monopoly involves the idea of tracking a good amount of the internet.

 

Whats wrong with a natural formed monopoly then? You referred to it being derogatory. If google can offer quality services at a cheap price, they deserve all the money they earn.

 

I think not. Some day there will be the new search engine coming and if their algorithm and promotions are going well, google will have a new competitor, and it'll be fun. Who used google ten years ago? Who used ebay ten years ago? So we don't know what will happen in the future because everything are changing very2 quickly.

 

I would certainly agree that some companies become a monoopoly due to govt rules but not all.

In singapore, starhub is a monopoly they are the only cable TV providers here. Now their prices are skyrocketing but we have no choice but to pay them whatever they charge us. Isnt that stupid? Cable TV monopoly imagine how much profit they are making from this.

I wont call google a monopoly. Remember they are still not the no.1 website in USA, yahoo is still ahead. In SE, google is big again yahoo and MSN has a good share if not big.

Google is not related to govt so you cant say they are being favoured by govt etc. I dont remember any such case. However they are on a buying spree, but that dosnt mean they are a monopoly yet.

this is web2.0 here opportunities are created everyday. Google is just a big fish in the pond.

 

GodMode, I don' have a full understanding of the way Singapore runs... Does the government allow Foreign companies to come into the country and operate there? Is Starhub a monopoly because no other cable company WANTS to compete with them, or because the Singapore government TELLS everyone that they CAN'T Compete with them or they get thrown in jail. Those are two very different scenarios. In my area, Like I mentioned before, I can buy my gas / electricity for my home ONLY from PSE&G. Not because no one wants to compete with them, because the government will lock anyone up who competes with them.