Google Word Processor No Big Deal

David Card | March 12, 2006, 09:26 AM

On Thursday, I wanted to post on Google's acquisition of the folks who make the Writely word processor, but -- I'm being honest here -- this blog is really supposed to be for marketing. That is, I wanted to link to Jupiter's Understanding Google report, and show how clients can use our analysis framework to evaluate the strategic importance of the move, as well as Google's likely seriousness. But the report hadn't been posted when the news was breaking, and I didn't want to let the press have it before our clients did. #$%&. Well, now it's posted.

Competitors and partners should think of Google as a platform company that creates marketplaces, products, and services that support consumers' efforts to organize their information. Google's corporate insularity results in biases toward secrecy and its existing search technology, and weakens Google in supporting industry ecosystems based on its platform.

So, running Writely thru the analysis machine I get:

- Search Affinity score - minimal
- Habitual Usage score - minimal (Consumers don't use word processors much. Office drones do, but the drones aren't dumping Office anytime soon, esp. for a Web app.)
- Platform Potential score - minimal. (Ask Microsoft about how easy it is to build a platform off a word processor. Even with an office suite.)
- Marketplace Leverage score - minimal.

Net result: this acquisition product is a total non-event, and Google will invest further effort in it accordingly.

For non-clients who can't see the report, Google initiatives that matter include: Google Base, the toolbar & deskbar, Maps, and Money (if it ever happens). Each of those is way more important right now than News, Picasa, Video, or Blogger.