Airbus Of The Web Would Be Just As Bad As Airbus Of The Air
from the how-about-a-boeing-of-the-web dept
If you've been following the aviation industry, you know that European aerospace giant Airbus has been beset with problems lately. The state-supported company has seen its manufacturing problems exacerbated by the political interests behind it. So it's bizarre that Christoph Mohn, head of Lycos Europe, believes that Europe must create an Airbus of the web, to compete with the American internet giants. His concern that Europe has yet to produce a global internet brand may be reasonable, but the idea that a state-backed company would be best to do battle against Google and Yahoo is misguided. Already, an existing plan to prop up the industry, with a project called Quaero, looks like a boondoggle intended to divert public funds to private companies. Furthermore, a state-funded internet company will likely discourage competition and damage the domestic industry. If there's an underlying cause for the lack of a European internet success, then that should be addressed. But trying to replicate a failed model for building a business or an industry clearly looks like a mistake.
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Useless
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Re: Useless
While it is very pleasant in the "Here and Now", some people can actually see past it. Not everyone sees happy things. Take a look at the WW-III or WW-IV that is taking place around us.
Do you realize that comms infrastructure (including inter/transcontinental fiber lines) will be the FIRST thing to magically go away when the battles escelate to a full fledged war?
Anyone who wants to create a national [clone of american internet company] may very well want to do it because they dont want to lose everything when someone decides they dont like the US anymore and act out on that feeling.
OK, so maybe that is a rather apocalyptic (sp?) fear, and it might even be a delusional fear, but it is a perfectly justifiable reason. Anytime you become DEPENDANT on something, the very first thing you MUST do to ensure survival is to establish contingency on how to live without it. Anything else and you are merely gambling with your fate.
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Umm.. I think No Scott.
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Re: Re: Useless
Europe needs to innovate. Sure, we can always use more competition in the industry - but the reason Google is Google is BECAUSE Google innovates. All the big American internet companies have done this.
Europe will never globally compete until it starts to think for itself and comes up with interesting, new and exciting concepts - even if those concepts fail it would at least start the momentum in the proper direction.
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If that's the model you want to use, then it'll probably be members of the EU waring on each other, just like the last two WW's.
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Re: Re: Re: Useless
You do realize your post was political commentary right? You're talking about global economics, that IS politically driven BS plain and simple.
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Comparison to European Drug Companies
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European Search engines
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US Domination
Niche sites will continue to thrive in all languages, but the biggest marketplace, and hence the biggest place to make money, is using the lowest common language, which is now english.
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Re: European Search engines
I think the biggest problem the EU faces is getting
over an inferiority complex. Airbus suffers from it
driving some of their business decisions.
Instead of looking longingly at other's successes
and trying to duplicate them, be innovative.
The EU encompasses an enormous resource in
talented, clever people. Let them do what they
do best, create, design, the successes will come.
What I'm trying to say is the success is almost a
by-product of innovation.
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europe = innovative
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on a serious note
in america, failure is an excuse to get up and try again. not true for any other place in the world. we engendered this mentality from the onset with the so called "american dream". whether or not people believe in it (i do), it is difficult to ignore the cultural implications of a society to stresses risk taking and heroism in the face of failure. once europe can change this, the innovation will follow...
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Re: europe = innovative
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Europe
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For the most part...
Sure this is fine for things like healthcare and social services but it's not the best for free market competition.
Advent technologies is a good way to start but it's not the only way. You don't necessarily have to copy existing models. Google started well after other search engines had their say. Even in the midst of AOL, Yahoo, MSN, etc...
Google came about by offering a differnt algorithm, a new way of doing the same old thing...search.
So, it's not to say that doing the same thing is really doing the same thing. Build a better mouse trap, the people will follow.
This " it's already been done" mentality is just what is keeping EU from moving anywhere. The U.S. is home to invention because we tend to not be confined to this old Socialist mentality. We are forced to be more independent in order to survive hence, I believe, this fosters more radical thinking.
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innovation without price is difficult
if someone makes something, you can make a similar product that is cheaper. this is why sandisk makes MP3 players even though apple has essentailly cornered the market.
conversely, you could make a luxury version that caters to a more affluent crowd.
the trouble with internet companies is that you can't compete on price since most web based services are free. if you want to offer something competitive, you have to come up with a new way of doing it, like google.
skype used to be european before it got bought by ebay. i felt like a total rebel paying my phone bill in euros :-)
i hope europe spends it's research money wisely and comes up with something that is totally unique.
it should also be noted that a the bulk of open source software projects are run by europeans. clearly europe has talent.
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Re: Comparison to European Drug Companies
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They needed to be located close to their profitable markets, which is the US, at least for now.
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What Free trade?
By the way Airbus problem isn't that it's a European company but that it's controlled by French.
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American corporate web know how is merely a reflection of the venture capitalist system here. Alot of people lost alot of capital money to get the internet success stories we have here. Several of which were founded by recent immigrants. Those successful operations now hire from all over the world and are shifting jobs out of the US as fast as they can.
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Re:
I understand the need for that, what I don't understand is the need for government subsidies for types of businesses that are not "wartime" necessary. A government sponsored google alternative is not likely to become a success, and it will never be a “wartime” necessity. If there comes a time when using Google in Europe is not possible, then another service will present itself.
Google is on top because it is the best, not because it has subsidies or tax breaks. As soon as it is no longer the best (and yes that day will come) it will no longer be on top. Its replacement could come from Europe, Asia, Africa, or the Americas. Wherever it comes from, it will be better than Google because it did the job better, not because of a government subsidy. The Internet has made it so that the border doesn't matter as much as who does it better.
Immigrants come to the US to start businesses because it is easier to start them here. Sure there is more venture capital, but that isn’t the main reason why so many businesses are started here. The main reason is that the government regulations are a lot simpler and less controlling. So if Europe wants to have more cutting edge businesses, they need to loosen up controls and make it easier to start businesses. A lot of that venture capital actually comes from Europe and Asia. The venture capital will go wherever people are starting businesses. There is no reason why that couldn’t be Europe.
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Then, of course, it was their DDoS-episode, which we aren't going to forget. You can safely ignore anything these clowns say.
Go fuck yourself, Lycos.
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