Even though its ubiquitous Internet search engine practically mints money, Google Inc. was widely seen as a company whose
best days were behind it.
It was written off as the next Microsoft Corp. -- a staid high-tech giant in the shadows of Apple Inc. and Facebook Inc. that had lost its sense of urgency and
innovative edge.
But that sentiment has shifted dramatically over the last year, and when Google swings open the doors to its annual conference for software developers
Wednesday, it won't just be showcasing its latest products. It will be showing off the newest version of Google.
"A year ago, everyone thought Google was just going to collect its pension checks" from search advertising, said Steven Levy, author of the book "In the
Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives." "Now it's the hot company again."
One of the main reasons Google is the company that everyone is talking about: big ideas.
Google has long been known for making long-term bets on audacious ideas, some of which evolve into indispensable parts of our everyday lives: photographing every
street on Earth to create a digital replica of the planet, say, or providing instant translations of websites in any language.
Under Larry Page, the Google co-founder who took the reins two years ago from
longtime Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, Google is experimenting even more.
Building artificial intelligence software to power driverless cars. Wiring homes
with super-speedy broadband. Developing futuristic glasses that when spoken to
or touched let users take photos and snippets of video or send email.
Google even has a small group of researchers coming up with a simulation of the
human brain, part of its effort to bore so deeply into people's habits and lives
that it can understand what they want -- sometimes before they themselves know
it.
"There's not much competition" when it comes to exploring technological
frontiers, Page said during the company's first-quarter earnings call, "because
no one else is crazy enough to try."
These attention-getting projects have reinvigorated Google's image in Silicon
Valley and beyond. The company has a starring role in a new Vince Vaughn-Owen
Wilson movie coming out June 7, "The Internship," which showcases Google
products and casts Google as "the greatest place to work in America."
And it has again become the darling of Wall Street. Analysts still fret that
searches on desktop computers, Google's most lucrative way to sell ads, will
cool off before it can come up with its next big moneymaker. But they say Page
has impressed investors by running this $50-billion business of nearly 54,000
workers with hardheaded discipline.
Page has sharpened the company's focus on a handful of product areas to deliver,
in his words, "one consistent, beautiful and simple Google experience,"
something Google executives say will be on display at its developers conference
this week.
As rivals Apple and Facebook each experienced their own bruising falls, Google
stock has shot up 65% since Page took charge. Google, whose shares closed at
$877.53 on Monday, recently surpassed the market cap of Microsoft.
Prospects could get brighter if Page realizes his big ambitions for Google. Page
wants Google to be on every screen and every device so online advertisers can
reach consumers wherever they are and whatever they are doing.
