Should Google Abandon Google+, Buy Hewlett-Packard?

Google has gained more than 40 million users just 13 days after it went public and 108 days after launching on invite-only mode.  Facebook on the other hand obtained its 100 millionth user almost four years after Mark Zuckerberg launched the site in his Harvard dormitory.  And Google's Yegge could have had just a bad day at that time.

Google has a host of market leading products and services that could be a social-media game changer.  Google's search engine is the world's most popular Web site and it has YouTube, Google Books, Blogspot, the Chrome browser, Gmail e-mail service, and GoogleDocs.  Facebook has its apps but even its partnership with the provider of its most popular apps, Zynga, isn't even exclusive.  

Google recorded a $2.5 billion profit in three months ended June 30, 2011 primarily from ads across its sites and services.  It could make more money if it lures traffic from Facebook.  But Google+ probably can't beat Facebook gven that the former is already losing traffic this early.

"Google+ is a knee-jerk reaction, a study in short-term thinking, predicated on the incorrect notion that Facebook is successful because they built a great product.  But that's not why they are successful.  Facebook is successful because they built an entire constellation of products by allowing other people to do the work," Yegge wrote in his post, which was deleted immediately after posting.  "So Facebook is different for everyone.  Some people spend all their time on Mafia Wars. Some spend all their time on Farmville.  There are hundreds or maybe thousands of different high-quality time sinks available, so there's something there for everyone."

The Google+ team tried to mimic Facebook's usage of games but simply ended up being run-of-the-mill, thanks to a lack of understanding of platforms, Yegge said.

The brilliant minds of Google should just channel their efforts somewhere else.

Talking about platforms what Google has masterfully learned in the past two years is the platform for mobile devices.   Its Android operating system is now being used by almost 50% of smartphones.  Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster estimated that Google made $850 million revenue from mobile advertising, with Android-related ads generating 16%.  As users increase, Google could generate in excess of $1 billion in Android-related ad revenue in 2012, he says.

And how much does it earn from Android licenses?  None.  Google doesn't charge directly for use of the Android OS but has an ad revenue sharing deal with device-makers.

The licenses have come in cheap but it doesn't mean Google has not been accruing costs for developing, and protecting, Ice Cream Sandwich and other platforms named after desserts.  Google is paying for litigation costs and is threatened by a minimum of $2 billion in damages sought by Oracle for alleged violations of Java's copyrights and patents in Android, according to Electronista, citing court filings by Google.  And Google is paying $12.5 billion for Motorola Mobility -- a business that lost $56 million in its most recent quarter and $137 million in the past six months -- just to get hold of patents that would protect itself against patent litigation.