The folks at Google are trying very very hard to complete the second act of a greek tragedy. I don’t know why. Here’s the analogy:
Act 1: Young smart rich white folks (who everyone wants to be) find incredible success in a Garage. (Oedipus takes out the Sphynx.)
Act 2: Hubris Hubris Hubris. “Search is 90% solved” says Marissa Mayer. “It’s a party jet” says Larry. Or was is Sergei? Or was it Rosencranz? Meanwhile, they embark on super expensive acquisitions to cover up failed yet expensive organic attempts to grow the business. (Base? Knol? That Second Life knock off?) And they screw the little people.
Act 3: I don’t know what act three is, but the stage is getting set. The stock is down 40%, and the vast majority of employees are deep in the red on their stock options. The smartest people are leaving to go to Facebook or some other next big thing. The parking lots empty out earlier each day. Is there a Lear in the future, howling in the wilderness? Or will someone gouge their eyes out when they see that they’ve become the next Microsoft: sclerotic, anti-innovative, and clearly of a prior generation?
