Google is seemingly everywhere these days, and it’s expected the company will only grow bigger in 2013 and beyond.
From its social networking with Google+, to mobile and tablet Android devices like the Nexus 4 and Nexus 7, to the widely used search engine, there’s nary an area of daily life that Google doesn’t have a hand in.
That’s not to say Google is the leader of the pack, or without its fair share of competition from the likes of Facebook and Apple.
With just a few elite companies vying for that all-important user base, you would think Google CEO Larry Page would be more concerned with the opposition.
However, based on statements given in a recent interview, Page believes Google succeeded in spite of competition, merely because they’re “doing something different.”
Speaking with Wired, Page discussed the genesis of Google+, and though Facebook was already well-established in the social networking landscape, he believed there was space for another option.
“We had real issues with how our users shared information, how they expressed their identity, and so on,” Page said.
“And, yeah, [Facebook is] a company that’s strong in that space. But they’re also doing a really bad job on their products. For us to succeed, is it necessary for some other company to fail? No. We’re actually doing something different.”
Page likened the situation to the early days of Google itself, when nobody believed another search engine could survive in an already crowded arena.
“I think it’s outrageous to say that there’s only space for one company in these areas,” Page continued.
“When we started with search, everyone said, ‘You guys are gonna fail, there’s already five search companies.’ We said, ‘We are a search company, but we’re doing something different.’ That’s how I see all these areas.”
As for what Page thinks of Google+ as it stands right now, the CEO added he was happy with its progress, and he could tell they were doing a good job based on competitors aping what Google was doing.
Facebook wasn’t the only company Page skewered in the rare interview, as he took the chance to throw a few barbs Apple’s way as well.
When discussing how he felt companies only failed because of lack of ambition, not litigation or competition, Page brushed off the idea Apple’s iOS was any competitor to Android.
When Steve Jobs claimed to “go to thermonuclear war” on the Android operating system, Page merely replied, “How well is that working?”
As of November, Android sat atop the market with a 75-percent share, while iOS had fallen far behind – just under 15-percent.
Page also discussed how he thought a less-open operating system hindered innovation, and though he didn’t single out Apple specifically in that case, the point was clear.
“Our philosophy has always been to get our products out to as many people as possible. Unfortunately, that’s not always easy in this day and age,” Page said.
“Now we’re going backward with a lot of the platforms that are out there. Companies are trying to wall everything off, and I think that impedes the rate of innovation.”
With Page at the helm, Google appears to be headed in the right direction in leading technology and its users further into the future.
There are rumors about Google X, a new phone and tablet line born from the acquisition of Motorola Mobility.
There’s the continuing evolution of the Android OS, with Key Lime Pie’s release just off the horizon, and a whole slew of Android gaming devices slated to arrive at some point in the next year.
The company’s annual event, Google IO, is set to go down in May, and Page and co. will likely have plenty of new innovations to show off then as well.
Regardless of the competition, it seems Page is content to allow Google to march to the beat of its own drum, and he has high hopes for what lies ahead.
“We’re one of the bigger companies of the world,” Page said. “And I’d like to see us do more stuff – not just do what somebody else has done, but something new.”
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