Jason Calacanis takes google to task for becoming a content company and competing with publishers. While much of what Jason writes may seem clear to folks who have been competing with the content parts of google, I have come to believe that it is far from clear to googlers themselves. This is based on a number of conversations I have had with googlers on various inititiatives. Most of them seem (a) blissfully unaware of the awesome power that google wields and (b) genuinely convinced that they are acting for the best of consumers and/or developers. This is a dangerous combination when you are on the receiving end of one of google’s new initiatives. And it begs the question – who will play the role of Peter Parker’s grandmother? Who will remind google that with “great power comes great responsibility”? Let’s hope such a reminder will happen sooner rather than later. It will be good for the Internet eco-system and ultimately for google.
