Why Did Google Make Chrome?
September 10, 2008 – 11:14 amYep, it’s Chrome week and I’m just going to blather on about it through Friday. Today we have a piece by the one-and-only Robert X. Cringely speculating on why Google decided to make Chrome in the first place. (Actually the post is four days old, but I’m perennially behind in my feeds. Sue me.)
What I like about this particular post is how fundamentally stupid Bob’s idea is. (Perhaps I seem hypocritical since I slammed Henry Blodget yesterday – gratuitously — for posting so much inspid linkbait. The difference is that even Cringely’s stupid theories are original, articulate and well-argued.) In a nutshell, Bob postulates that Google created a browser because they are afraid that Microsoft will “turn off ads” in IE. This would deprive Google of a huge slice of its revenue and prove to the world “who is still the sherriff.”
Needless to say, this theory is full of more holes than a Prague sidewalk in winter. First off, stripping out ads isn’t exactly as simple as flipping a switch. Microsoft would have to rely on the specific HTML format used by Google for its ads. To counter this, Google would just have to change the format. I imagine that an organization full of genius PhDs could perform some pretty impressive obfuscation with billions of dollars of revenue on the line.
Besides which, if this threat were real, what would a Google browser do to counter it? In a word: not much. (Okay, two words.) Unless you are willing to assume that IE users will shift en masse to Chrome in the short to mid-term, the implicit control over the web that Microsoft enjoys thanks to IE’s high market share would remain essentially unaffected. If this were really foremost on Google’s mind, they would do far better to invest in Firefox, which already has 20%+ market share and might make a real difference if those Redmond rascals did decide to do something dastardly with IE.
So why do I think Google developed Chrome? For the same reason they do most of what they do: because they can. Google VP Marissa Mayer says in this video interview: “We’re really excited about Google Chrome because we really like to innovate where we see not enough progress being made.” Translation: “We thought we could make a better browser than those numbnuts at Microsoft and Mozilla, and since our search business mints money we have the resources to invest in hugely ambitious projects with no obvious strategic value.” (Inserting the word “really” a few times to make this sound more like Marissa is left as an exercise to the reader.) No deep dark secret here, just the desire of a bunch of geeks to impress the world with their cool hack.
10 Responses to “Why Did Google Make Chrome?”
you don’t really get how IE could block ads. It’s just like Firefox’ Adblock: it blocks DOMAINS. So if IE blocks the classic AdSense domain. Every webmaster in the world has to change its pages. And then IE can block the new domain.
In this fight IE (like all adblockers) would surel win.
By Flavio on Sep 10, 2008
I totally disagree. Adblockers “win” currently because a small minority of users install them and it just isn’t worth the publishers while to invest possibly significant effort to block them when the impact on revenue is unclear.
My understanding that Adblock blocks “patterns”, not domains. Patterns are quite easy to break through obfuscation.
With billions on the line, Google would quickly come up with a system where websites wouldn’t embed ads from a specific domain but rather from some randomly generated domain (or whatever). The scenario is preposterous anyway, but even if Microsoft made a real concerted effort to block ads, I think Google could defeat their system fairly easily.
By Matthew Gertner on Sep 10, 2008
You know what, I think Google created a web browser because they were pissed off at the state of the web. For example, GMAIL programmers spend endless time making Gmail faster, but due to the slowness of Javascript, refactors only go so far. So they make a browser with better Javascript. Now Mozilla can steal it or learn its tricks because Chrome is open-source. And IE only innovates when there’s competition, as we know, so they’ll also start working on their Javascript. Before you know it, all browsers have better Javascript implementation, and now Google Application teams can worry a little less about Google Spreadsheet being less responsive than MS Excel. And thus, Webapps become even more of a decent replacement for Desktop apps.
By Gil on Sep 10, 2008
Google needs useful web applications written in HTML/JS.
Because users want web applications that are always more desktop-like.
And to find these applications, users use… google, which can take revenue from its adds.
Google does not want users to use Flash, Silverlight, Java FX, Flex […] applications, because these applications cannot be parsed by the google search engine.
That’s why:
- google release tools for web developers to write AJAX-able applications in plain HTML/JS.
- google wants browsers that are fast to run Javascript and display HTML pages (help to Firefox, own Browser).
By Yann on Sep 10, 2008
Blocking on a domain name would be a clear violation of anti-trust laws. No chance.
By FFD on Sep 10, 2008
of course I meant: if Microsoft does so in IE.
By FFD on Sep 10, 2008
Google made chrome because they need an OS. Don’t think at chrome as a browser think of it as an OS.
Something than can run apps, and see each app as an independant process that can be killed.
Chrome is a huge attack upon windows, not upon IE.
By Sunny on Sep 10, 2008
I agree that Google made Chrome for the same reason as everything else they make. But I disagree about the reason you ascribe. There are actually two factors:
1. They perceive a potential space for what they create (in this case, they think they can advance the web by making a browser with compelling features and get users for their browser).
2. They are attempting to increase their sphere of influence.
Google has already demonstrated that an increased sphere of influence can often be converted into revenue. Google’s reasons for creating new things is ultimately neither nefarious nor flight of fancy. They aren’t worried that Microsoft will cut off their ad revenue with IE. (As you point out, building Chrome is unlikely to change that.) They’re looking to find a new point of contact with potential consumers so they can eventually monetize it. Google always operates this way. Step 1: Do something that gives opportunity for increased sphere of influence. Step 2: asses how much influence new product gives. Step 3: either monetize (usually by ad revenue or promotion of somewhere they can get ad revenue) or quietly move on to the next project.
By Coenwulf on Sep 10, 2008
Coenwulf, that sounds like a very solid and forward-looking corporate strategy until you consider that Google still makes 99% of its revenue from AdSense and AdWords. In other words, none of the multitude of products they’ve rolled out in the past five years or so generates any significant revenue.
Some might argue that Google is rationally exploiting its broad scope for complementary products to enhance its revenue-generating businesses. But I can’t shake the feeling that there is a fair amount of whimsy in their product strategy. Contrast with Apple, which ruthlessly exploits every chance to make money off its products and recently surpassed Google’s market cap.
By Matthew Gertner on Sep 10, 2008