Talking Business – Stuck in Google’s Doghouse – NYTimes.com

Talking Business – Stuck in Google’s Doghouse – NYTimes.com

Credit Where Credit’s Due…Trevor beat me to to punch on this one.  Check out his comments at the link below.

http://swanbergcis.blogspot.com/2008/09/has-google-replaced-microsoft-as-next.html

This is a nice article about the potential monopoly power of Google.   The line I like best is the one that notes (paraphrased) that monopolies can’t help from acting like monopolies.  Google defends their monopoly power by arguing that they don’t take certain competitive actions against competitors because it’s all in the “algorithm.”  Nevertheless, Google will tweak their algorithms in ways that are best for Google, and others must pay the price.  Simply because the competitive moves are automated, doesn’t necessarily make them an improper use of monopoly power.

Of course, I love Google.  The challenge here is that IT works better when systems are integrated, but you need competition for innovation.    I’ll have to think on this more.

The Incredible Inedible – Google « Scottamcgavin’s Weblog

The Incredible Inedible – Google « Scottamcgavin’s Weblog

Scott’s post reminds me of a forward-thinking doctor I have had a chance to work with.  The doctor said that the culture of the medical field is that if the doctor doesn’t know the answer to a particular question, the doctor will make up some excuse to step out of the exam room to go look it up in his office.  Now, with computers in many exam rooms, the doctor will sit down with the patient and Google the answer online.  The doctor finds the answer while also serving as a role model for how to search for infomration. 

I had a statistics question when I was writing my Ph.D. dissertation, so I went to an expert.  He did the same thing, sat down on Google and tracked down the answer.  I believe it was Einstien who said, “why would I memorize [the periodic table] when I can look it up.”  Google takes that sentiment to a whole new level.  Nowadays expertise isn’t about knowing the right answer but knowing where to look…and knowing its the right answer when you find it.