Google: The Columbus of Profit Pools

I was reading and article about Google+ today. While I was reading, I couldn't help but think about our discussion and reading about profit pools. Perhaps no other company has done a better job at seeking non-traditional profit pools in their industry than Google. In so many spaces, Google has invaded various markets with entrenched competitors, such as Microsoft, and challenge them using different profit pools as points of leverage. For example, Google decided it was going to get into the mobile operating system market. Instead of charging OEM's to license the software, they started giving it away for free intending to make money off the increase in use of some of their ad-supported services on the web. This has been incredibly effective and has dramatically changed the landscapes of nearly every industry that Google has jumped into.

Apple and the Value of a Brand

I read a headline the other day titled "Apple Drops 'Jew or Not Jew' App From Store". This immediately reminded me of our in-class discussion we had about the power and value of brands. Perhaps no other company had fully exploited the power of brands more than Apple. Apple's brand is so valuable that people often refer to the higher price of Apple products as the "Apple Tax". Apple's recent decision to exclude an application that allows people to search a database of famous people to determine if they are Jewish or not, is a maneuver aimed at protecting their brand. Similar to earlier decisions that banned pornographic materials from their app store, Apple has a brand and image that they are a company of high values, and they are more than willing to act to maintain that image and brand.