Do the good people at Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) ever sleep?
Word leaked out on Wednesday that the Internet search specialist will introduce Google Print, a service that enables users to search excerpts from books. Several media outlets pounced on the story, noting that Google is pitting itself against Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), which has its own version of such a search capability.
Then, yesterday, Google disclosed that it is testing a service, called Google SMS, that would permit users to access its search technology to find residential and business listings as well as product prices via their cell phones. In addition, besides confirmed rollouts, speculation has grown that Google will eventually produce its own Web browser.
With more than $1 billion in new cash from its initial public offering, Google has the resources to charge ahead with a number of initiatives, a fact that has to be on Yahoo!'s (NASDAQ:YHOO) radar screen. Still, it's best not to be too enthralled by all of these projects, since well-established competitors, including Yahoo! and Amazon, aren't going to take these challenges lying down. What's more, immediately in the wake of the IPO, Google may be vulnerable to the loss of key people, as pointed out by the Fool's Bill Mann.
Sure, Google has huge potential, but its valuation seems to reflect the belief that the firm will achieve unqualified success on every front far into the future. The young company has been incredibly nimble and ahead of the curve in so many ways, but in the incredibly dynamic market in which it operates, it's easy to miss a cue or two. Eventually there will be a stumble, and how Google responds to adversity may be the best measure of its staying power.
For related articles about the Web, see:
Is Google breaking all the rules? What revolutionary companies today will be huge tomorrow? Take a free trial to Motley Fool Rule Breakers to learn more.
Fool contributor Brian Gorman is a freelance writer in Chicago. He does not own shares of any companies mentioned in this article.
