Notend

Google Gobbles Mobile. Earlier this morning, it became public that in July Google purchased Andriod, a company which makes mobile software for mobile phones. While there is little known about the company or the transaction, I have a couple quick thoughts and reactions: • Between this acquisition and that of Ubiquity Labs, it is now obvious that Google has its sights directly set on the mobile platform as a next frontier. To me, it is clear this event is just another recognition of the fact that mobile phones are rising to become vpn for android phones an integral personal media device (PMD) with functionality and uses far beyond just two-way conversation. • This acquisition is just another in a chain of Google and Yahoo cherry-picking small pre-significant-funding startups. I, along with others, have wondered if there is new model for startups in the post-bubble era (see my earlier post). The counter argument, of course, is that News Corp is looking for acquisitions with very deep pockets – and a willingness to use them. The difference, it seems, is that while Yahoo and Google are buying innovation and engineering talent, Murdoch is potentially buying an empire. These two dissimilar strategies of Internet company acquirers are providing ripe exit strategies for startups regardless of size and stage. Google to Gobble Gobble Gobble or Just Selling High. Just one day after I suggested that Google’s acquisition strategy is to cherry-pick small pre-significant-funding startups to buy innovation and engineering talent, the company announces that it plans to sell approximately $4.2B in shares of its stock. And as Paul Kedrosky concluded, “It seems fairly certain, therefore, that Google has some company-buying in mind.” Large company-buying if that’s the case. It appears that Google’s past purchases are perhaps not necessarily indicative of its future ones. So now both low-flying seed-stage companies and larger-cap techs are potential acquisition targets. Internet startups seeking liquidity have even more reason to become hopeful. The alternative explanation, however, is that Google views its stock as overpriced and is “selling high” while it can. This is at least the second event this month of “selling search” - the other was Jupitermedia Corporation selling Searchenginewatch.com and the SearchEngine Strategies show. UPDATE: Apropos, you can check out Rags' blog for a job posting from Google "looking for people of all levels of experience to join its M&A; team." Perhaps everything available about you online will soon be tagged with your name on del.icio.us. Or any photo taken of you could be found on Flickr. The rise of user-generated content opens the possibility a wealth of potential information about someone – perhaps out-of-context or misrepresented – available to anyone with a few keystrokes and clicks of the mouse. In previous post entitled Knowing Your (Incremental) Online Reputation, I made that case that “your online reputation does matter, and I’d argue it will increasingly do so.” Today’s concern originated over personal information about a celebrity CEO; tomorrow’s could be over non-famous people with an incomplete or inaccurate online presence.