It’s easy to be obsessed with Google. Not only am I thick in the middle of drafting a report on the search giant, but the media shares my obsession by pumping out article after article on the Mountain View world-changer.
The latest example: Reuters has this piece today on Madison Avenue’s fear of Google. Google’s almost-perfect business model of pay-per-click combined with its recent push into free web analytics and continued refinement in its AdSense program is sparking dissidence among ad agencies, who fear Google might swallow up their businesses.
In fact, resistance by that most powerful bastion of American capitalism, Madison Avenue, seemingly drove Google’s stock down last week.
“From a consumer perspective, Google is all good,” Merrill Lynch analyst Lauren Rich Fine said in a recent note to clients. “However, Google is starting to attract negative publicity (tied to) its foray into other mediums.” His argument that Google’s encroachment into other businesses, including the large advertising agencies, drove Google shares down 4.7 percent last Monday, its biggest percentage loss in a year. The stock has since recovered most of its losses, closing at $417.70 on Friday, but the debate over Google’s power to transform whole industries only continues to grow.
Cynthia Brumfield at 6:44 PM|Comments(0)
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