Google Acquisitions and Investments (Graphic).

A subway map of Google's Acquisitions.

It was interesting for me, as I studied this article that I found through Digg. It was about Google’s Acquisitions over the years. We hear about them all the time, it isn’t anything new, but I guess what shocked me is how many of them that we haven’t heard about. And on top of that, how many of the technologies that Google has, have come directly through these acquisitions. I always assumed that Google was actually developing these technologies (silly me). This makes Google more of a holding company than anything else.

On top of that, when you look at the history of Google’s hiring and they have been known to sort of “buy out” the best in the industry. Everyone has heard about their wonderful accommodations and the benefits that their employees get, but does anyone ask why? It is to buy these wonderful brains out of the competitors using money and this infinite list of benefits to not only draw them there but to keep them busy while they die. Many Google employees have said that they often don’t have work for what they were hired for, but instead they are given the resources to accomplish some of the personal projects that they have always wanted to complete. Google just kind of keep them busy until they want to retire.

Now the pivitol question. Is this a good idea? I am not saying either way, except that it is unique in the industry. It would take a company like Google that could do it. Let’s be honest. Google has more money than they know what to do with. Half of the services that they offer, actually cost them money and bring them absolutly no revenue. They throw money at thier employees and they throw goodies at their employees until the employees can’t handle anymore… simply because Google can. Think of another company that has these kind of resources. It would take a Google to be able to do this, and I don’t know who else could.

Related to that note of having too much money, is why they seem to buy every company with two legs in cyberspace out. This is why they acquire so many companies. They find these start-ups like feedburner for example (most recent acquisition), and instead of wasting all the money to compete with them, they hand over a huge wad of cash (100 million in this case) and just take over what is already there. The biggest example of this is with YouTube. Google had tried for over a year to be successful with their Google Video application, competing with YouTube, but eventually bought out YouTube for $1.65 Billion in stocks to eliminate the competition.

This graphic shows just that, what they have acquired and where it came from. So my next question or rather my point: I guess from all this you only have to do one of two things to be successful in life.

1) Build a working internet business, and wait for Google to buy you

2) Become the best in your field and wait for Google to hire you