* YouTube
* Google Earth
* Google Docs
* Picasa
* Android
* Doubleclick
While none of these is the very heart of Google (Search, AdWords), they encompass some of the most popular and most strategically important of Google's offerings, don't you think?
Think again. AdWord/AdSense came out of "Applied Semantics", that they bought in 2003 for $102MM.
Here's the full list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitio...
Google also developed and launched AdSense prior to acquiring Applied Semantics.
They acquired Applied Semantics because it was complementary to what Google had already developed.
"A key application of the CIRCA technology is Applied Semantics’ AdSense product"
Is this wrong?
And then comes the recent string of Summly, GoPollgo, Loki, and Tumblr. From my lay perspective, they seem random, and quite overvalued. Maybe Yahoo will do good things with these companies, as Google did with its acquisitions. Or maybe these will go the way of Geocities.