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By now, you?ve probably heard the big news coming from Google. In a bizarre Back to the Future-esque development, Google are creating their own parent company as part of a structural overhaul for their business plans. The new entity has been given the enigmatic, all-encompassing name, Alphabet, symbolizing a bunch of clever things. Supposedly, it alludes to the term ?alpha? as a return on investment and being a safe ?bet?, as well as signifying the letters which make up the words which are the building blocks of language and search.
So why does it matter to us? As far as anyone can tell, it doesn?t. It?s almost Silicon Valley?s equivalent of Kim Kardashian changing her hairstyle. It doesn?t affect anyone, but that won?t stop us speculating and offering opinions.
By far and away the biggest target for speculation is Google?s track record for tax avoidance. With all the complicated thimblerig shuffling going on, it?s not surprising that critics are pointing to some hitherto unknown legal loophole is being exploited. Google, meanwhile, insists the change will allow them management scale and give them greater freedom to work on each of their various, often unrelated projects.
The logo has attracted its fair share of scrutiny, too. While some have claimed it shows a growing maturity, others have questioned the decision. Recollections of Yahoo?s rebranding are conjured to mind by the new logo, a largely dull affair with a strange idiosyncratic lowercase ?a? which doesn?t seem to match the lowercase ?e?. To my eyes, it looks like a mature version of the Google logo in the same way that a child wearing a suit looks more mature. And the rudimental name doesn?t help.
Even the blogpost explaining the changes comes off a little pre-teen. ?We did a lot of things that seemed crazy....We are still trying to do things other people think are crazy but we are super excited about.? You start to get the idea that Google only succeed because they have too much money not to. They can throw money at self-driving cars, augmented reality, longevity and pay off all the losses with search and ads, until they finally make it. Or buy somebody else that did.
If this is maturity, they?ve skipped ahead to the midlife crisis, like all children warped by money. Their goals have changed from providing customer focused services to amassing knowledge and power like its going out of fashion. Most of what Google has done in recent years has only benefited Google - Search Plus for example. The brand changing might not affect us at all, but chances are something big is in the works which most certainly will.
Or maybe I should take off the shiny tin foil hat.
By now, you?ve probably heard the big news coming from Google. In a bizarre Back to the Future-esque development, Google are creating their own parent company as part of a structural overhaul for their business plans. The new entity has been given the enigmatic, all-encompassing name, Alphabet, symbolizing a bunch of clever things. Supposedly, it alludes to the term ?alpha? as a return on investment and being a safe ?bet?, as well as signifying the letters which make up the words which are the building blocks of language and search.
So why does it matter to us? As far as anyone can tell, it doesn?t. It?s almost Silicon Valley?s equivalent of Kim Kardashian changing her hairstyle. It doesn?t affect anyone, but that won?t stop us speculating and offering opinions.
By far and away the biggest target for speculation is Google?s track record for tax avoidance. With all the complicated thimblerig shuffling going on, it?s not surprising that critics are pointing to some hitherto unknown legal loophole is being exploited. Google, meanwhile, insists the change will allow them management scale and give them greater freedom to work on each of their various, often unrelated projects.
The logo has attracted its fair share of scrutiny, too. While some have claimed it shows a growing maturity, others have questioned the decision. Recollections of Yahoo?s rebranding are conjured to mind by the new logo, a largely dull affair with a strange idiosyncratic lowercase ?a? which doesn?t seem to match the lowercase ?e?. To my eyes, it looks like a mature version of the Google logo in the same way that a child wearing a suit looks more mature. And the rudimental name doesn?t help.
Even the blogpost explaining the changes comes off a little pre-teen. ?We did a lot of things that seemed crazy....We are still trying to do things other people think are crazy but we are super excited about.? You start to get the idea that Google only succeed because they have too much money not to. They can throw money at self-driving cars, augmented reality, longevity and pay off all the losses with search and ads, until they finally make it. Or buy somebody else that did.
If this is maturity, they?ve skipped ahead to the midlife crisis, like all children warped by money. Their goals have changed from providing customer focused services to amassing knowledge and power like its going out of fashion. Most of what Google has done in recent years has only benefited Google - Search Plus for example. The brand changing might not affect us at all, but chances are something big is in the works which most certainly will.
Or maybe I should take off the shiny tin foil hat.
