Is Google The Most Powerful Company In The Universe?
Google receives constant criticism about this topic. Obviously, this criticism doesn’t sit well with the Google executives. They claim the company is in a powerful position for the sole reason that users like thei
r services, not because they’re forced to use them. Anybody can click instantly for a new search engine; they are in no way obliged to use google, unlike with Microsoft’s software. People chose Google over Yahoo and Bing years ago and they continue to do so.
The facts:
Revenue? Sinopec Group is the largest company in the world. Google is not in the top 60 list.
Market capitalization? Apple Inc. is the largest public company in the world. Google is the 4th after Exxon Mobil and Microsoft respectively.
Profits and losses? Fannie Mae is the largest company in the world. Google is not in the top 30 list.
Number of employees? Walmart is the largest company in the world (2,200,000 employees), Google has 55,030 employees.
Largest information technology companies in revenue? Samsung Electronics is the largest information technology company in the world. Google is the 10th after Apple Inc., Foxconn, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Amazon.com, Sony and Panasonic respectively.
So, how unstoppable is Google? They are most certainly a powerful company, but they aren’t exactly what some people make them out to be
Is Larry Page the Most Powerful Man in History?
This question may seem ridiculous. However, it is quite valid! Let’s look at some facts:
- Google search advertising has $54 billion in cash. In the last twelve months it generated nearly $18 billion in profits.
- Together with his cofounder, Sergey Brin, Page holds a majority of t
he voting stock in Google. The fact is: Google is a publicly traded company that essentially has private owners. - Brin largely defers to Page on running the company. He always has.
- Because of that deference, Page can pretty much do what he wants with Google’s money.
- He can, and he does.
Page has been willing to spend that cash on wildly ambitious and expensive projects, as well as many charity works. On the Google Dot Org website, the following statement appears: “Tech entrepreneurs are using innovation to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges. We invest in teams with bold ideas that create lasting global impact.”
How Unstoppable Is Google?
Google has 10 things they hold themselves to. On their company website, Google says “We first wrote these “10 things” when Google was just a few years old. From time to time we revisit this list to see if it still holds true. We hope it does—and you can hold us to that.” So although Google may be unstoppable, they aren’t corrupt.
Here is the list:
- Focus on the user and all else will follow.
- It’s best to do one thing really, really well.
- Fast is better than slow.
- Democracy on the web works.
- You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.
- You can make money without doing evil.
- There’s always more information out there.
- The need for information crosses all borders.
- You can be serious without a suit.
- Great just isn’t good enough.
Under each point, there is a long explanation. Google expands on number 6 saying, “Google is a business. The revenue we generate is derived from offering search technology to companies and from the sale of advertising displayed on our site and on other sites across the web. Hundreds of thousands of advertisers worldwide use AdWords to promote their products; hundreds of thousands of publishers take advantage of our AdSense program to deliver ads relevant to their site content.” Google goes on to talk about that they have a set of principles to guide the ads they allow. Firstly, they don’t allow irrelevant ads. Next, they don’t allow pop ups. Finally, they clearly indicate what is an ad and what isn’t. 
In conclusion, Google is a very powerful company. However, they aren’t abusive of this power. Google is unstoppable in some aspects, but their ambitions are for the good of the world.
louisenaumann 