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.