Google Analyst Day
Yesterday was Google’s Analyst Day, where it welcomed stock market analysts to discuss its future plans, the first time it has ever really publically let a glimpse of its future be known. I’ll have more later, but here’s the big stuff, from the AP:
- Google will begin (eventually, no time soon) requiring a login for most of its services. CEO Eric SHmidt would not specify when or for what.
- Google’s ideal division of resources: 70% on the search engine, 20% on search products, like Froogle, and 10% on experimental services like Keyhole and Orkut. Of course, with so many people at Google working on AdWords, that 70% working on the search engine may be (my estimation) be divided to 30% on search, 40% on ads. Lets not try to deny Google’s most important division is its ad division, not its search division.
- The beta tag means that big features have yet to be added, and will remain on until they are. As we all know, it can sometimes also mean that there’s no money in that product.
- Google wants to hire more people, but can’t find them because of high standards. Wanna bet that’ll change as the need for more people gets more prevalent?
- Larry Page said speculation on Google Browsers and Google Phones was just confusing. “Most of the things we read are a surprise to us”.
Just thinking I’d offer Larry a few surprises to amuse him: A highly placed source (my cat) says Google is going to begin offering dishwashers, model airplanes, male genital enhancers, Flubber, universal TV remotes, those plastic things on the end of your shoelaces, shoelaces, and of course, widgets. This comes on the highest authority.
All stupid and unfunny jokes aside, you can watch the analyst day video at this link.
(via Google Blogoscoped)
UPDATE: I watched the first hour of the webcast, and the AP got one thing wrong. Schmidt didn’t say that Google was planning on adding logins. He said that Google didn’t need logins on all of its services, because many of the data it collects works with what it calls “anonymous logons”, tracing short term usage patterns on a very large scale.
Search Engine Watch has a good look at all of the coverage.
The Times makes the excellent point that the chef spoke about the free food, but the chief financial officer didn’t talk about the finances, to the financial analysts, on analyst day!
Google wants to hire more people, but can’t find them because of high standards. Wanna bet that’ll change as the need for more people gets more prevalent?
There’s a big difference between “high” and “unrealistic.” All reports have indicated that they are turning away highly qualified applicants, including ones that they solicited temselves. Any personel problems are solely their own fault.
Comment by NoSpam | February 10, 2005
It all comes down to the HR people. They problem eat glue in their spare time. HR has always been a problem for many corporations and still will be until we fire them all.
Comment by Scott | February 10, 2005
meant to say probably eat glue. yes and sniff glue too.
Comment by Scott | February 10, 2005
Pretty soon Google will stop looking at them as high standards, and more as unrealistic ones. How much can you complain that you can’t find enough people before you start hiring the really good people you’ve been turning away?
Comment by Nathan Weinberg | February 10, 2005