I, Cringely on Google

Interesting I, Cringely column on Google.

On Google's management:

The problem is that the company has built layers and layers of folks who aren't allowed to make any decisions. That feels like delegation, but isn't ... Being the biggest brain in the room didn't always make you the best decision maker. The Google founders have yet to learn that lesson, but they will.

On Google's business strategy:

Google needs to grow ... because they have become a target. Any billion dollar market involving IT is one that Microsoft wants to own.

Google's strengths are its technology, its brand recognition, its current status as a stem cell of Internet business, and of course there's that $1.75 billion. Look for the company to accelerate its acquisition pace with a strong emphasis on acquiring smaller companies with interesting technologies.

The key to making money in search is to get between people and what they are searching for, and that's where Google is on a collision course not only with Microsoft and Yahoo, but also with Amazon and eBay. Amazon is vulnerable to the Googlization of all the millions of retailers who aren't running Amazon storefronts just as eBay is vulnerable to the Googlization of auctions where localization, pricing, and seller fees can all be improved.