The Daily Poll: What is Google?

January 22, 2008

Over on Real Clear Markets, John Ellis asks “Might Google Buy The New York Times?” While it’s more of a “what if …” piece than a substantiated rumor, he argues that a deal would make sense for a number of reasons, including providing Google with the ultimate platform to gain further power and influence in Washington. Personally, I don’t think such a deal is likely, but with The New York Times barely holding onto a $2 billion market value, an acquisition would be a tiny blip on Google’s balance sheet if they wanted to pursue it.

While the vast majority of Google’s revenue still comes from search advertising revenue, with expansion into everything from mobile to a Wikipedia competitor, how we define the company? Today’s poll question:

I define Google as a …