IP Democracy: Google Strikes Fear Among a Range of Industries

Because of its far-reaching utility, Google makes a whole lot of industries nervous, according to a piece penned by Steve Lohr in Sunday’s New York Times. From Wal-Mart to Microsoft to BellSouth, Google’s central role in helping consumers search for goods and services puts Google in, well, just about everybody’s business.

And Google is pursuing, or at least investigating, just about every business it can.

As Google increasingly becomes the starting point for finding information and buying products and services, companies that even a year ago did not see themselves as competing with Google are beginning to view the company with some angst - mixed with admiration.

That latter point, namely that Google also sparks admiration amidst the fear, is a curious hallmark of the search giant. Despite its scary power, Google has done some pretty cool things, and has really delivered on the promise of the Internet.

Google is the realization of everything that we thought the Internet was going to be about but really wasn’t until Google,” said David B. Yoffie, a professor at Harvard Business School.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on November 5, 2005 9:39 PM to IP Democracy