The Google Revenue Equation, and Why Google’s Building Chrome OS

Description

The Google Revenue Equation, and Why Google’s Building Chrome OS

July 11th, 2009 | by Ben Parr Comments

It’s only been a few days, but it feels like weeks since Google

announced Google Chrome OS and stirred up the blogosphere and the imagination of techies and Microsoft haters everywhere. The response, the analysis, and the debate has been constant ever since.

Can it beat Windows? Can it even run Photoshop?

Two days ago, we profiled the ongoing battle between Microsoft and Google , focusing on areas where the two companies compete. Almost everyone has framed Google Chrome OS as a direct competitor to Microsoft Windows. But I am about to argue that this is the wrong way to view Chrome OS .

Google’s goal isn’t to have the majority market share. The goal is to force you on the web more and for longer. Why? It’s all part of Google’s simple equation to monetize the world.

It’s not about how Google makes money, it’s about where

Google generated about $21 billion in revenue last year. The vast majority of that revenue, well over 95%, comes from advertising via its search engine and its AdSense program, which places ads on millions of websites, including Mashable

.

You probably already knew that, though. The key to understanding why Google is building an OS based off Chrome

though isn’t about how it generates revenue, it’s about where . The answer’s simple: anywhere on the web .

View a YouTube

video? That’s revenue for Google. Visit Mashable? Google ...

Original URL

http://mashable.com/2009/07/11/google-equation/

http://mashable.com/2009/07/11/google-equation/