I'd love if Google ran my cable or phone company. Instead of making their businesses out of telling us what we can't do, GT&T would recognize the benefit of helping us do what we want to do: use the internet more and create more of our own stuff. Google might even figure out how to make connectivity ad-supported and free. Sadly, though, I think Google knows what it is and won't expand into other industries, even if it would be good at running a cable or energy or phone company.
Jeff JarvisLike most other creatives, I struggle with self-sabotage, self-doubt, and feeling like an imposter more often than not. I struggle with expressing myself, because it does sometimes feel easier or safer not to.
Jeff JarvisJust heard the best word in the English language: benign. (And I don't need to see that doctor again for five years.)
Jeff JarvisGet out of the way. This is actually Craig Newmark's law. As Google built the most powerful tool imaginable - the entire world of digital knowledge revealed behind a simple search box - so did Craig build a simple tool that changed society , and newspapers and real estate and more, without prescribing how we should use it. They create platforms to enable us to do what we want to do and then, instead of giving us rules about their use, then they stand back and put us in charge.
Jeff JarvisPeople are enduring more than a temporary financial crisis. We are witnessing a fundamental shift in the economy. Companies and industries will in great measure no longer grow by borrowing vast capital to make huge acquisitions. The way to grow to critical mass - the Google way - will be to become platforms and networks that enable others to build businesses, grow, and succeed.
Jeff Jarvis