# Alta Vista--turn out the light. It's over. (A dogpile question) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 29, 2013, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alta-vista-turn-out-the-light-its-over-a-dogpile-question/662175 "2013-06-29T02:19:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alta-vista-turn-out-the-light-its-over-a-dogpile-question/662175/61 "2013-07-01T22:00:33Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Here’s where you’re not getting it. Google has no “market segment.” They have their fingers in _ **everything** _. When you’ve got the best search engine, the best webmail client, the best maps site, the best video player, the best cloud text editor, the best image searcher, the best news portal, and the most popular mobile platform, you can afford to take a few fliers… like self-driven cars and, a social network. Three social networks. And whatever the fuck Google Wave was. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alta-vista-turn-out-the-light-its-over-a-dogpile-question/662175/62 "2013-07-01T22:20:39Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Here’s where you’re not getting it. Google has no “market segment.” Okay. If you want to think Goog is something New and Completely Different and thus immune to the forces of business, history, mischance and ineptitude, it’s entirely in line with every post you’ve ever made on the general topic. Some of us remember a time when _there was no Google_. Shocking, I know. (And I’m probably just making it up to make you look bad.) ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alta-vista-turn-out-the-light-its-over-a-dogpile-question/662175/63 "2013-07-01T23:10:19Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Okay. If you want to think Goog is something New and Completely Different and thus immune to the forces of business, history, mischance and ineptitude, it’s entirely in line with every post you’ve ever made on the general topic. We’ll have to agree to disagree. But new companies do join the forever list. There was a time when Microsoft was just a small startup. But they aren’t going anywhere, and I’d bet major bucks that Google isn’t either.\* And I remember a time when Google didn’t exist as well. Everybody does. It was only 17 years ago. - Sadly, I don’t have enough major bucks to buy into Google stock. I wanted to buy one share back during IPO time just to say I did and I chickened out because I was living a bit closer to the bone than I am now. Ah well, such is life. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alta-vista-turn-out-the-light-its-over-a-dogpile-question/662175/64 "2013-07-02T00:14:31Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Google is the third-biggest company in America right now, by market cap. That kind of reach doesn’t just disappear overnight. And that kind of entrenched groupmind doesn’t change due to a board of directors switch. It infects the whole company and it’s affecting the way other big businesses work: > > [Google - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google#Corporate_affairs_and_culture) > > “Don’t Be Evil” may ultimately be just a plaque, but it will take a long time to get there. And maybe, just maybe, Google’s motto will survive long after the creators have moved on. > [@JohnT](#): > > Fixed that for ya. 😉 > > From 7th largest company to bankrupt in 10 months. Not necessarily overnight, but damned quick. **MODERATOR NOTE–NOT A WARNING** **John T**. Don’t , _in any way_, change a posters words, even by supplying a cite on the web. Not a big deal, but that wasn’s the way to do that one. **samclem** , moderator ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alta-vista-turn-out-the-light-its-over-a-dogpile-question/662175/65 "2013-07-02T04:33:00Z")
The original statement was: > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It seems unthinkable but maybe in **ten years** there’ll be some backpage announcement that Google is being shut down and we’ll all be saying “Oh, right, Google, I remember that. That was still around?” I followed it up with the term “ever” but really I was referring to that ten year time frame. > [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Okay. If you want to think Goog is something New and Completely Different and thus immune to the forces of business, history, mischance and ineptitude, it’s entirely in line with every post you’ve ever made on the general topic. Google may be hit by ineptitude and knock it sideways somewhat, but I definitely don’t see Google disappearing within ten or even twenty years. Maybe within fifty years, but it will need to be replaced by something better, rather than just die out, and it’s hard to imagine them making that bad a misstep. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alta-vista-turn-out-the-light-its-over-a-dogpile-question/662175.md?page=3)