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Is Googlecoin Coming?
Google has been manifesting itself in more and more niches of the technology sector. Cryptocurrencies however, remained untouched by the internet giant for now. What if…
Since the fall of 2012 our advice has been to sell Apple stock. The reasoning behind it was fairly simple. Without the leadership of top exec Steve Jobs, the large corporation would become very hard to manage and steer into the right direction. About a year and a half later, this is exactly the technology company’s problem. Apple does not surprise, innovate, or lead the pack anymore. Apple is lagging and that is deadly in a sector that is extremely competitive like technology. We have been waiting on iTV for years now, but it does not look like it is going to happen. The iWatch has been on our watch list for months, while the competition has been launching one smartwatch after the other. Too late, Apple. The company that once was a technological super power, now is a has-been.
On the other hand, regular readers of Sprout Money know that we love Google. The basic idea behind it is that Apple operates inside a closed environment, while Google has an open ecosystem. Google can power the entire internet to generate revenue, while Apple can only generate revenue from its own users. Meanwhile, Apple is hitting the limits of its business model, while Google’s growth is practically unlimited, only limited by the ever-expanding reach of the internet. The internet is taking a brand new direction too. We are evolving over the next few years into the concept of the ‘Internet of Things’, connecting the worldwide web to everyday objects and services. An example of that would be a ‘smart fridge’, which can deduce from your agenda what’s on tomorrow’s menu, alert you of missing ingredients if there are any, and even order online.
Google is biting down hard to not miss this trend, and potentially even shape it. Not only did the company come out with Google Glass last year, which are high-tech glasses projecting an additional dimension with all the knowledge of Google on the inside of the glasses, but the company also purchased Nest Labs recently, the producer of the smart thermostat. With that, Google can probably collect more data on its users in order to position even more and better ads, which is still the core business of the internet company. But Google also made some purchases in other niches of the technology sector. Recently, the company acquired robotics specialist, Boston Dynamics, and artificial intelligence authority, DeepMind. However, Google’s acquisition fever did not just start a few months ago. Since the beginning of 2013, Google has been extremely active on the acquisition trail as evidenced by the list below (source: Wikipedia).
The acquisitions are in different sectors of the technology space, but Google also spread out geographically with its purchases (not only in the US). This will prove to become a true value differentiator for shareholders, because only through innovation can a company remain competitive or, even more, become a market leader. One area in which we have not heard from Google yet is cryptocurrencies. You know, bitcoin et al. It is an interesting evolution in the online payment market.
It is highly likely that Google is in wait-and-see mode for now with regards to cryptocurrencies, but we are sure that this segment has their full attention. We recently read that Google would possibly accept bitcoins in its payment ecosystem Google Wallet, but we suspect that it might be a bit too early for that. Furthermore, Google might be a candidate for launching its own cryptocurrency in our opinion. The Googlecoin or Gcoin. Google has the largest P2P network in the world, which is what powers a cryptocurrency. Sounds crazy? We don’t think so. Don’t forget that Google owns banking licenses for the most important countries in the world. One day, Google could start putting those licenses to work, and what better way to serve the financial side than with its own cryptocurrency. It would be relatively cheap to do so, and the insight and data arising from its usage would be a huge advantage to the company.
While the competition is struggling, Google is innovating non-stop. Organically and through acquisitions, the company is creating additional shareholder value in the technology sector with seemingly relative ease. Not by sitting on its cash, which seems to be Apple’s approach. As a consequence, GOOG remains a favourite technology stock of Sprout Money. It's not only an advertising search gigant, but a robotics, 'internet of things', AI, ... , and maybe also a future cryptocurrency play.
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Google+ is a poorly executed MySpace knock-off.
It is a life funneling tar pit of user capture and control.
Google Docs (Google Drive/Quick Office) hasn't exactly set the world on fire.
Considering their "bend over for .gov at the user expense" posture Google has illustrated I would not trust "GoogleCoin" with a single penny.
Their Motorola acquisition has been a disaster; now sold to Lenovo for less than 1/3 what they paid in 2011.
Google looks more and more like a compliant parasite serving TPTB versus an alternative to them.
Google+ is much more insidious. Google+ is a network of affliliation detection to verify identities and relationships to increase quality search results. Google Docs is a play to trash the Office pricing, and keep pressue on MSFT on a second front. Moto was to get the patents, not the rest of the biz. Every company bends over for .GOV, we have a corporate dictatorship, so they all play on the same team.
The thing Google has going for it is enormous positive free cash flow. So, they can make mistakes that a company like, say JC Penney, cannot.
Seems to me like google is almost an arm of the statist dictatorship in USSA. Beware the gov't-technology complex.
d edwards There's no almost about it they are!
snip...
Nestled among the lofty rhetoric of “hope and change,” Barack Obama made a core promise during the 2008 campaign that he would put an end to the corporate cronyism that has long pervaded the political system. “The days of sweetheart deals for Halliburton will be over when I’m in the White House,” he proclaimed. What President Obama left out however, was that the days of sweetheart deals for his cronies had only just begun–with his chief corporate advocate, Google, quickly emerging as the Halliburton of his administration.
Though the Internet giant recently faced serious federal antitrust charges that might have broken up other companies, it emerged virtually unscathed just two months after President Obama won re-election with significant financial and creative assistance from Google and its executives. Unquestionably the president’s most indispensable corporate ally, the terms of Google’s recent antitrust settlement are just the latest example of crony capitalism benefiting the company under the Obama Administration.
Halliburton was the only company that could actually perform the contracts. They had the resources no one else did. They are the largest construction/logistics firm in the world. So calling it a sweet heart deal is not quite accurate in my opinion. I think this is the reason all the big political and power players own a piece of Halliburton. Have a war or major catastrophe, need a large conglomerate to clean up the mess. So Obama marks the beginning of a new era of cronyism. A different style and much more sinister. Shocker...Maybe nepotism is more accurate. I think Google is a little different. Google always intended to be the repository for ALL information to build AI. What major corporation provides it's services for free? Of course it's not free and the currency we give Google is information for which they are building artificial intelligence. I think that the political class think they can allow Google to build this monster and then they will take it over and make a lot of money in the process. I doubt it will work out this way though. Most don't have an incline what the implications for humanity will be. I don't think I really do. Read Ray Kurzwiel, it will blow your mind.
Of course it was a fucking "sweetheart" deal: the goddamned wars were started just so they could get the contracts.
But, the ends justify the means, dontchaknow?
I think by now, most know, google is the information arm of the state. And with State backing, it may be entrusted as the administrator of a crypto currency which will replace all others. Voila, national e-money.
"Don't fight the Fed" could now be extended to "Don't fight google." To me, buying BTC is, in a round about way, fighting both, plus fighting the IRS, at least until it devises a crypto 1099 form.
As is Facebook and Microsoft. They've got all the bases covered.
We will use our GoogleMoney to pay a ransom for our privacy.
After ReggieCoin...
And Doggie Coin.
It has become a cottage industry -- got an old 486 machine in the garage? Make your own cryptocurrency.
every other cryptocurrency that was backed by a private company has failed. Bitcoins whole point is it's decentralized peer to peer ledger system that does not rely on any one private entity to exist
It's hardly anonymous though, is it, given what we know about NSA.
intrinsically, bitcoin does not require users to provide any identifying info.
if you choose to do so through the methods you use, that's your problem, not bitcoin's.