So Google (my employer) bought DoubleClick. I wasn’t really under any illusions when I accepted their offer; I knew they were an advertising company. Anyone who reads Slashdot or Digg or even the New York Times knows they’re an advertising company. We’re in advertising for the same reason Willie Sutton robbed banks: it’s where the money is.

Many, many years ago, when the web was young and timid and slightly less jaded than it is today, I subscribed to Dogbert’s New Ruling Class newsletter. One month, Scott Adams explained why the Dilbert website would soon be including advertising — which was a big deal at the time. I can’t find the exact reference, but I believe it went something like this:

  1. Advertisers give us money.
  2. We like money.

(Insert obligatory Idiocracy reference here.)

But back to Google. The commentary on the acquisition has been all over the place, and I have nothing to add to it except this comment from Digg:

Whenever I read stories such as this, I wish I could go back in time ten years ago to high school and actually done something with my life rather than run off and drink in the hills and fire shotguns at rabbits.

I bet the rabbits agree with you.

§

Four comments here (latest comments)

  1. Such insight. I love Digg.

    Speaking of money, I hope you have a bit extra lying around because I’m billing you for the keyboard you just destroyed by forcing coffee through my nose.

    — Ryan Tomayko #

  2. Hopefully, Google will be able to drain the evil ichor pulsing through DoubleClick’s corporate veins without getting infected themselves.

    Personally, I was kind of hoping that Microsoft *would* buy them, because they would have screwed it up just like they did LinkExchange, back in the day, thus effectively removing them from the market.

    — Michael R. Bernstein #

  3. Everybody likes money. On the one hand I love Google for bringing good innovation to the web. On he other hand I’m a little bit affraid of a company which is now buying innovations and cocepts of others (e.g. youtube) in order to constantly grow and to become powerful like no other firm in the web market. I mean Google is not the good underdog of the web anymore it seems like very a hungry player… hungry for market power, hungry for other companies, hungry for monopoles.
    To be fair: At the moment Google hasn’t used its position like Microsoft uses its position in the market. Hopefully this stays like that in the future.

    — Jochen Ibiza-Boruschek #

  4. Who is next? ValueClick?

    — Robert #

Respond privately

I am no longer accepting public comments on this post, but you can use this form to contact me privately. (Your message will not be published.)



§

firehose ‧ code ‧ music ‧ planet

© 2001–8 Mark Pilgrim