What would the world be like without Google?

I just read Nicholas Carlson's new book, Marissa Mayer and the Battle to Save Yahoo . It's a very interesting book about Yahoo's past, present and future. But what surprised me most was that the choices made by Yahoo's management could affect the fate of another Internet giant, Google .

Back in 1997, Yahoo had the opportunity to acquire Google's core technology at a cheap price, so that Google founder Larry Page might pursue his academic career. But Yahoo missed this opportunity. Imagine if Yahoo acquired Google, Page Rank would be incorporated into Yahoo search.

Sure, Yahoo Search might have been a better product, but given what we've learned about how management can let a great product fester in the years that follow, it's reasonable to think that Yahoo could have become a lot like Google is today.

Although Google has been criticized for its dominance in search and exclusion of dissidents, and for the fact that many people worry that it will become "Skynet" in "Terminator", in fact, no technology company is as ambitious as Google and is involved in almost every industry.

If Yahoo bought Google, would there be another company working on self-driving cars, robots, artificial intelligence, or even extending human lifespan? It’s hard to think of a company that could replace Google today. Microsoft is working on all sorts of interesting projects in its R&D labs, and Facebook is helping to network the world through its investment in Internet.org, but these projects tend to be closely tied to the business goals of each company.

Conversely, no company other than Google is willing to dream up big “moonshots” and spend big bucks on them. Of course, other companies rarely have the resources to achieve Google’s goals while facing legitimate criticism. Without Google, there would be a huge hole in today’s tech world.

Of course, it's dangerous for a company like Google to have such a powerful influence on the future of technology, but the tech world would be a lot less fun without Page and his army of ambitious geeks.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.