As Google Goes, So Goes the Nation
With General Motors stumbling into insolvency, clearly it’s time to re-evaluate the old chestnut, “As GM goes, so goes the nation.”
It’s too easy to read the doomy, gloomy economic headlines and suggest that — well, actually, maybe the fortunes of the U.S. are still reliant on its once-dominant automaker. Because the fact is, the country has changed considerably. As a share of our overall economy, “manufacturing” is certainly far less influential than it was back in the ‘60s. Meanwhile, the rise of Information Technology has led to waves of true innovation that have not only created a new sector in-and-of-itself, but has also created beneficial effects and efficiencies in every other industry.
I submit that “Google is the new GM,” in terms of its emerging role as a bellwether for the state of the nation.
Yes, Google itself has been going through a rough patch (as are we all!) but looking at the Big Picture, we see a company that is fiercely, faultlessly innovative. A company that strives for domination, like a good ol’ fashioned free market capitalist. A company whose success has spawned an ecosystem of tangent business strategies. A company that is ruthlessly careful about hiring the right people. A company that treats its employees well. A company that cares about its responsibility to do good things for the world. A company that adapts to market conditions; that is willing to cross its fingers and experiment. A company that leads by example.
Ain’t that America? Ain’t that the image of the American Corporation that dominated in the pre-Enron, pre-bailout days?
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Twitter Comment by @lebrun (Marcel LeBrun)
@tdefren posted – “As Google Goes, So Goes the Nation” – [link to post]
– http://twitter.com/lebrun/statuses/1053865867
– Posted using Chat Catcher (http://www.chatcatcher.com/)
Very interesting post, Todd.
I don’t disagree that GOOG represents the America we’re going to have to be if we’re going to succeed in a truly connected, digital world.
They don’t make three-dimensional goods, and transform previously moribund industries by squeezing out inefficiencies.
The one area where I’d diverge is in the staffing. While GOOG is certainly a model in many ways, they cannot be a true bellweather when their hiring practices essentially require an advanced degree from Harvard, MIT, Berkley, or Stanford. Great that they can go that route, but hardly viable for nearly any other company, and certainly not reflective of the educational attainment of most Americans, past or future.
Twitter Comment by @prblogs (prblogs)
PRSquared: As Google Goes, So Goes the Nation: With General Motors stumbling into insolvency, clearly .. [link to post]
– http://twitter.com/prblogs/statuses/1053887503
– Posted using Chat Catcher (http://www.chatcatcher.com/)
That may very well be true. However in my eyes Google is also the new Microsoft or IBM, depending on how old you are
Google has its hand in every pie, a massive diversification strategy which has sometimes taken it far from its core competency. With the economy in recession it is to be seen how Google adjusts to the new market realities where shareholders may be less enthusiastic with Google’s experimentations.
Twitter Comment by @jaybaer (Jason Baer)
I really like the thinking from @tdefren here about Google being the bellweather for the U.S. economy. [link to post]
– http://twitter.com/jaybaer/statuses/1053897963
– Posted using Chat Catcher (http://www.chatcatcher.com/)
Twitter Comment by @carakeithley (Cara Weiser Keithley)
RT @lebrun @tdefren posted – “As Google Goes, So Goes the Nation” – [link to post]
– http://twitter.com/carakeithley/statuses/1053898877
– Posted using Chat Catcher (http://www.chatcatcher.com/)
Twitter Comment by @ReneeMellow (ReneeMellow)
“Google in the new GM” – Todd Defren [link to post]
– http://twitter.com/ReneeMellow/statuses/1054031471
– Posted using Chat Catcher (http://www.chatcatcher.com/)
Nice post.
Google is also an American company by underpaying its Adsense-remunerated bloggers who generate billions of page views per month, by relying on the open-source developers community for close-to-free R&D purposes (we all remember how MyMaps selfishly doomed so many mapping mashups), by encouraging video producers to bring their videos to Youtube without any remuneration in return, by letting users populate the maps they monetize, and so on…
I don’t think it is innocuous that Google’s motto emphasizes on the evil potential of the company.
To think that Google represents America is ludicrous. Google has about 17K very highly educated employees. I believe there are about 17K Jiffy Lubes in America. There must be more McDonald’s. Either of those companies – low education, focused product/service, easy entry etc. represents America more accurately than one tiny tech company.
Furthermore, I would be the average and median Google salaries are in the $150K range and then there are options added onto that. The average American salary is around $44K and include no options.
I would bet 70 to 80% of people in Google have lived or traveled internationally, whereas less than 15% of Americans have passports.
Google might be the representative of Silicon Valley software/services, that is very reasonable. To say they represent America, to me, doesn’t do justice to either.
Andy
Andy,
Simon Anholt of Placebrands wrote a great book on the topic of how corporations and industries symbolize the American brand around the world. Nike, for better or worse, is one example. The American auto industry, American Idol, the War On Terror, and others come to mind when people think of “America.”
I don’t know Todd, but when he says that Google is the new GM, I don’t think he means that it literally represents a cross-section of America. I think he means that it represents American ingenuity and a dedication to capitalism that was once the providence of the American auto industry which has all but crumbled.