I'm not impressed, Anders. You seem almost proud that Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG ) Gmail has a little more than one-third the registered users of Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO ) Mail. Even if Yahoo! got an early jump, Gmail's been riding those coattails for nearly four years now. If Google were commanding a market cap six times greater than Yahoo!'s, that wouldn't amuse me.
Oh, wait. It is. Oops!
I agree with you that Google is a cool enough company to throw side projects at the wall like lumpy oatmeal, just to see what sticks. But I don't see how that's different from less successful Web companies like CNET (Nasdaq: CNET ) , Dice (NYSE: DHX ) , or Internet Brands (Nasdaq: INET ) , whose own walls are stained with crusty globs of prior porridge.
Google goes from flop to hit, but so does Robin Williams. I wouldn't pay $200 billion for Robin. Maybe you shouldn't pay $200 billion for Google.
I hate to criticize one of my favorite companies ever, but it's just ignorant to believe that today's search-engine rock star will top the charts forever. Did you really compare Google to Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B ) ? Aside from their vast wealth, the companies don't exactly have a lot in common.
Come now, Anders, do you really believe that Google isn't spreading itself too thin? With the low-lying fruit of high-margin paid search all but exhausted, Big G is down to throwing its hat into lower-margin rings where it may not hold the same competitive advantages.
"There's no telling what Google will look like in 10 years," you wrote. I couldn't agree more. At this share price, Google must be perpetually more relevant with every passing quarter. The uncertainty of that position -- and the company's willingness to fail -- should scare any investor.
You're not done with the Duel yet! Go back and read the other entries, share your opinion in CAPS, and vote for the winner.
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