Hello world and a healthy skepticism for Godzilla
Who am I and why would I have anything to say? I'm an MBA/ex-consultant - a title which makes me as unique as a gift shop art print. I'm also a former fool/entrepreneur that managed to sell my company for just enough to afford a mortgage, a remodel and two kids, all by age 31... and while that's not the bio you'll find on a Meet the Team! webpage, I'm still proud of it :)
Currently I manage Market Development for eBay's Developers Program - which boils down to working with software developers looking to integrate to eBay's platform. I get to see sparks of innovation actually turn into something interesting. If I'm lucky I actually help fan the flame a little... It's a great job.
And for those that don't happen to know about it, eBay is an actual Web Service (www.developer.ebay.com). eBay/Paypal has the potential to become a transactional operating system for the Web with APIs for searching, bidding, buying, selling, pricing, data and more! Alright, I'll stop the marketing spin, but honestly you should take a look ;)
So here's my first blunt - Google vs Microsoft = Godzilla vs Mothra. The titans are laying waste to our online Tokyo as we all point and watch... and honestly I'm not rooting for either. The whole Do No Evil bit feels hypocritical. Over time, Google (Godzilla really didn't mean to engulf that building in flames, really) will eventually do evil on the companies it competes with. How is Google offering free services (gmail, satellite mapping, orkut, and i can't forget blogger) any different than MS' offering a free internet browser. While Google is adored, MS is villified for something that ultimately accomplishes the same difference - kills the guy who charges for said service/application. Worse yet, I'm equally to blame as the next guy for loving free stuff (the satellite thing truly is cool)... but let's stop personifying and canonizing a company whose ultimate goal is the same as the next one (just like MS and yes eBay) - maximizing market capitalization on behalf of shareholders and making customers happy.
Currently I manage Market Development for eBay's Developers Program - which boils down to working with software developers looking to integrate to eBay's platform. I get to see sparks of innovation actually turn into something interesting. If I'm lucky I actually help fan the flame a little... It's a great job.
And for those that don't happen to know about it, eBay is an actual Web Service (www.developer.ebay.com). eBay/Paypal has the potential to become a transactional operating system for the Web with APIs for searching, bidding, buying, selling, pricing, data and more! Alright, I'll stop the marketing spin, but honestly you should take a look ;)
So here's my first blunt - Google vs Microsoft = Godzilla vs Mothra. The titans are laying waste to our online Tokyo as we all point and watch... and honestly I'm not rooting for either. The whole Do No Evil bit feels hypocritical. Over time, Google (Godzilla really didn't mean to engulf that building in flames, really) will eventually do evil on the companies it competes with. How is Google offering free services (gmail, satellite mapping, orkut, and i can't forget blogger) any different than MS' offering a free internet browser. While Google is adored, MS is villified for something that ultimately accomplishes the same difference - kills the guy who charges for said service/application. Worse yet, I'm equally to blame as the next guy for loving free stuff (the satellite thing truly is cool)... but let's stop personifying and canonizing a company whose ultimate goal is the same as the next one (just like MS and yes eBay) - maximizing market capitalization on behalf of shareholders and making customers happy.
posted by Ro at 4/30/2005
0 comments
