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Google’s “20% time,” which brought you Gmail and AdSense, is now as good as dead

(qz.com)
581 points antr | 4 comments | 16 Aug 13 12:09 UTC | HN request time: 0.848s | source
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akadien ◴[16 Aug 13 12:46 UTC] No.6223619[source]▶
This means that a lowly engineer with a great idea will leave Google to develop it instead of developing it at Google. Perhaps, this is a good outcome given the way Google keeps killing web services that people find useful but aren't profitable for Google.
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1. marknutter ◴[16 Aug 13 13:06 UTC] No.6223713[source]▶
But then what's stopping Google from just turning around and buying their startup if it looks promising?
replies(1): >>6223795 #
2. peacemaker ◴[16 Aug 13 13:19 UTC] No.6223795[source]▶
That was my first thought but then I realized that no-one can force them to sell to Google
replies(1): >>6223902 #
3. LanceH ◴[16 Aug 13 13:39 UTC] No.6223902[source]▶
They can't force in the gun-to-the-head sense, but they can "force" a startup to sell with the threat of throwing a billion dollars at the problem themselves.
replies(1): >>6224429 #
4. ryanmolden ◴[16 Aug 13 15:10 UTC] No.6224429{3}[source]▶
Because one can buy success? Like Google+? Or a lot of things Microsoft has tried recently? I realize, all else being equal, a threat of a major investment by a deep pocketed company shouldn't be taken lightly, but the idea that Google can "throw a billion dollars" at a market segment and thus dominate seems like wishful thinking by management.