Google reveals Alphabet, but BMW already owns that trademark
Google co-founder Larry Page unveiled a surprise restructuring yesterday with the announcement of Alphabet, a new company that owns Google and all of its semi-related products. Google’s stock soared 5 percent directly after the announcement, the world was busy dissecting the meaning of alpha and bet, and things looked rosy for the new company. However, there could be one problem: BMW owns the trademark and .com domain for “Alphabet.” And it doesn’t want to sell, a spokesperson tells the New York Times.
BMW’s Alphabet provides service packages to corporations with vehicle fleets. In terms of trademark infringement, it’s no problem for two companies to have the same name, as long as there’s no possibility of confusion for customers. In this case, there is at least one clear connection between the two organizations: BMW is a car manufacturer and Alphabet owns Google, which has a line of self-driving cars. BMW is looking into the possibility of trademark infringement, NYT reports.
As for the Alphabet domain, Google’s new company has secured abc.xyz, so BMW can continue using alphabet.com without worry — except for the apparent traffic overload that hit the site after Page’s announcement. Google’s Alphabet has a different domain issue to tackle: China has blocked its new site, despite expansive local coverage of the restructuring, Fast Company reports.
[Image credit: Associated Press]
Filed under:
Misc, Transportation, Internet, Google
Source:
The New York Times
Tags: alphabet, bmw, cars, google, Trademark, TrademarkInfringement
Alphabet: What you need to know about Google’s new parent company
In the modern world of leaks and rumours well before most official announcements, it’s rare that a company truly shocks the industry. Google, being Google, managed to do just this yesterday. After what could be years of planning, Google yesterday announced Alphabet, its new parent company that encompasses all of its brands, including Google.
Google founders name Sundar Pichai as Google CEO, create new parent company called Alphabet
What is Alphabet and what does it mean for Google as we know it? Let’s find out.
What is Alphabet?
To quote Alphabet CEO (and Google Co-Founder) Larry Page:
What is Alphabet? Alphabet is mostly a collection of companies. The largest of which, of course, is Google. This newer Google is a bit slimmed down, with the companies that are pretty far afield of our main internet products contained in Alphabet instead.
Essentially, this means that Google as we know it will be split off from the other divisions such as Life Sciences, Calico and its investment arms, Google Capital and Ventures, which will become part of Alphabet.
Why the change to Alphabet? Simply put, Google was too big for its own good and as each of its subsidiaries grew, the company would find itself stretched. Under the old structure, the company would need to plan strategically as a search giant/thermostat maker/operating system developer/internet provider but now, the slimmer Google can just focus on its core aims of providing Internet products and services to consumers, like you or me.
Page continued:
“Sergey and I are seriously in the business of starting new things. We’ve long believed that over time companies tend to get comfortable doing the same thing, just making incremental changes. But in the technology industry, where revolutionary ideas drive the next big growth areas, you need to be a bit uncomfortable to stay relevant.”
Looking at Google’s new Android M operating system, it’s clear that the move is designed to prevent the businesses from only making iterative advancements as opposed to real innovation and going forward, the slimmer Google should hopefully be able to innovate more easily.
What does Alphabet mean for Google as we know it?
One of the biggest changes in Alphabet is the ability of each business to have its own CEO and this is likely to be one of the biggest reasons behind the new structure; as a division of Alphabet, Google is now able to run independently of the other businesses and focus purely on its end product.
Diving into Android M:
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The newer slimmed down Google will be run by Sundar Pichai, who steps up to become the new CEO of Google. He will control all of Google’s divisions, except for YouTube, which will continue to be a sub-division of Google but will be run by current CEO Susan Wojcicki. By letting Pichai take the reigns at Google, both Page and Alphabet President (and Google Co-Founder) Sergey Brin, can take a step back and focus on the future. Page said:
Sergey and I have been super excited about his progress and dedication to the company. And it is clear to us and our board that it is time for Sundar to be CEO of Google. I feel very fortunate to have someone as talented as he is to run the slightly slimmed down Google and this frees up time for me to continue to scale our aspirations … Google itself is also making all sorts of new products, and I know Sundar will always be focused on innovation—continuing to stretch boundaries.
One thing that’s not immediately apparent is whether Page will continue to lead Google’s product launches (such as Google I/O) or whether Pichai will now be the main man. With Google expected to launch its new Android M OS alongside new Nexus devices later this year, there won’t be long until we find out.
The new structure
What does the new structure mean for the other companies inside the new parent company? It’s simple really; they will have their own CEO and mission and can execute this without worrying about the other businesses. One benefit of the restructuring is that businesses such as Google and Nest Labs are ready for other people to run allowing Page and Brin to take a step back and focus on products for the future.
Look at Calico – the business focused on combating disease and extending human lifespan – and it becomes clear that this is a business with the potential to be as big as Google itself. If there’s anyone who can find a way to defy age, it’s the company that owns the world’s largest search engine and you wouldn’t bet against them taking it to the big pharmaceutical companies.
The other businesses that will also become part of Alphabet with their own leadership teams are:
- Google X houses the most secret of Google’s projects – including Google ATAP – and being spun off into Alphabet allows it to focus on products for the future without worrying about the Google of the present. If you use a Google product now or in the coming years, chances are that it was developed inside the Google X labs.
- Google Ventures and Google Capital are Alphabet’s two investment arms and spinning off from Google itself should make acquisitions a lot simpler as well, with less concern and stigma around data being collected and used by other Google businesses. The spin-off should also make it easy for Alphabet to buy competing businesses and possibly get around competition regulation, although this is yet to be seen.
- Nest Labs has changed the way we automate mundane tasks inside our home and continues to do so. During the acquisition of Nest Labs, Google went to great lengths to confirm that Nest was not related to its search business – over fears that it would use the data in search – but the new structure of Alphabet means this is no longer a concern. Nest Labs continues to revolutionise the way we do things in our home and a focus on the future – led by current CEO Tony Fadell – could see the company deliver an integrated smart home suite.
- Fiber will continue with its aim of delivering 1Gbps internet and TV services at an affordable price in a bid to shake up the market without worrying about the stigma attached to being a Google company handling customer data. Presumably Project Fi will also fall under this division although it is technically related to the core Google business as well.
Alphabet is definitely an interesting change for Google but with the giant arguably becoming too big for its own good and being stretched thin across its various businesses, the change should hopefully streamline the operations of all the companies.
Money, money, money
The restructuring should also mean significant changes for shareholders and the stock market alike. Under its old structure, the wider Google group reported all its figures together with only some declaration of individual performance, but the restructuring should hopefully provide some more transparency.
Top Phones in video:
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As an example – under the old structure, Google’s Venture arm may have invested $500 million in a bold new startup only for it to fail and this would have an impact on the wider Google group financials. As such, shareholders may have questioned whether it would have been better to invest the money in developing the core Google businesses. Under the new structure, the company could report the Google Ventures and Google financials separately and while this may not change shareholder opinions about the money being spent, it should provide greater transparency on the performance of individual units as well as the company as a whole.
For the stock market as well, the restructuring could prove to be a blessing in disguise; one of the hardest jobs in the world is predicting the future as you can never be completely accurate. If Alphabet were to report on the individual financials of each division, it would provide the stock market with an indication of the future. Want to know where Google is likely to be in five years (from a financial viewpoint)? Simple – primarily look at the recent performance of Google Ventures and Google Capital (alongside the other businesses of course). Want to know more about Google’s dominance of the search industry? Simple – just look at the performance of the core Google business.
Instead of wading through financial documents, the new reporting may provide more transparency and a clearer indication – at a glance – of where the company currently stands and where it may be in the years to come. For the company itself, the restructuring may also mean they can take advantage of tax breaks but this is yet to be confirmed and we won’t quite know how it are set up until it reports its first set of financial results.
Alphabet Soup
The restructuring of Google to form Alphabet (including a slimmer Google) may seem complex but it’s rather simple; the core Google business (including Search, YouTube, Android etc) becomes a slimmer Google, while its other businesses (Calico, Nest Labs, Venture etc) become part of Alphabet.
If you’re still not sure on the structure, CNNMoney have published this very easy-to-digest infographic showing the changes:
So there you have it – Google is now Alphabet including a slimmer Google. For consumers, you probably won’t notice any changes as Google (at least as we know it) will remain the same.
You’ll still be using a Google Nexus device and Google Search but the wider unrelated businesses will no longer affect the ability of Google to adapt and change to the market. From a mobile perspective, this is definitely a good thing and maybe now, Google will be able to really innovate in everything it does going forward.
Google is working on an affiliate program for the Play Store
Google is said to be getting ready to launch an affiliate program for the Play Store. Rumors have said the program will be powered by Performance Horizon Group, which is the same company that runs Apple’s affiliate program.
It is also said that the program will initially cover only content sold through Play Movies and Music. However, eventually expand to include apps and even hardware.
9To5Google contacted Performance Horizon Group about the Play Store affiliate program rumor to which they responded by saying they were happy they contacted them about “the Google Play affiliate program,” and CC’d “Google Play’s affiliate team” to answer anymore questions. The email was “play-affiliates-help@google.com” and was labeled “Play Affiliates Support” in Gmail. Very strong evidence that an affiliate program is heavily in the works.
Google used to have an affiliate program, but shut it down back in 2013 to focus on products that would help advertisers and publishers more. Interestingly enough, Google Affiliate Network was owned by Performics and acquired by DoubleClick in 2004. A few years later they were bought by Google. However, the service has never included anything from Google’s digital stores.
An affiliate program for the Play Store would be praised by many. A Google search reveals thousands of websites and forum post asking for it for years now. I’m sure Google is also looking to drive more business to the Play Store as they are behind Apple’s App Store in revenue by about 70% even though it has roughly the same or more downloads.
Google did not respond to any inquires and Performance Horizon also did not respond afterwards.
Source: 9To5Google
Come comment on this article: Google is working on an affiliate program for the Play Store
A 26 letter company: Google is now a subsidiary of new parent company, Alphabet
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This is probably going to be the biggest news of the year, yet we had no idea it was going to happen. Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have started a new company called Alphabet (https://abc.xyz/), which is going to serve as an umbrella company for Google and its significant parts. If you’re wondering why this even needs to happen, you’ll probably remember news like Google investing heavily into the health and robotics sectors, industries which are cool and technological, but don’t really match with Google’s core business of the search, Android, ads, etc. This will allow all these subsidiaries to run independently, which should hopefully give each company – each with its own CEO – enough agility to progress their development as best they can.
While Page and Brin transition into CEO and President, respectively, Sundar Pichai has been given the CEO reins at Google, which is pretty much the best thing ever considering his significant contributions to Android. As for Google’s shares – which shot up 4% after this news – they will be swapped one-for-one for Alphabet shares, but still trading under the GOOG and GOOGL titles.
This is a lot to take in, but it seems like a really exciting move for all of Alphabet’s subsidiaries, and we can’t wait to see how this plays out.
What do you think about Google becoming a subsidiary of Alphabet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Google via Android Police
The post A 26 letter company: Google is now a subsidiary of new parent company, Alphabet appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Google restructures to become a subsidiary of a parent company called Alphabet
Today, a major restructuring reassigns Google as a wholly owned subsidiary of a new holding company called Alphabet. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the duo that co-founded Google, will be leading the company that is a “collection of companies.”
The lines between Google and other subsidiaries will be clearer and allow each to run independently. While Google’s core businesses — search, advertising, Maps, YouTube, and YouTube — remain under usual control, Alphabet will be busy with other subsidiaries such as Nest, Fiber, Calico, Ventures, Capital, and the X lab. Since they will be operating independently, Alphabet is tasked with allocating capital to the subsidiaries.
Alphabet plans to continue Google’s model in having a CEO running each business. Sundar Pichai, Android and Chrome’s leader, is being elevated to CEO of Google and YouTube’s Susan Wojcicki will remain in her role. Omid Kordestani, Google’s Chief Business Officer, will shift into an advisory role with both Alphabet and Google.
Larry Page spoke on what Alphabet represents:
“For Sergey and me this is a very exciting new chapter in the life of Google—the birth of Alphabet. We liked the name Alphabet because it means a collection of letters that represent language, one of humanity’s most important innovations, and is the core of how we index with Google search! We also like that it means alpha‑bet (Alpha is investment return above benchmark), which we strive for! I should add that we are not intending for this to be a big consumer brand with related products—the whole point is that Alphabet companies should have independence and develop their own brands.”
All shares of Google will be converted automatically to the same number of shares of Alphabet.
Come comment on this article: Google restructures to become a subsidiary of a parent company called Alphabet
Snapchat’s new update goes easy on your data, heavy on emoji
Snapchat rolled out a pair of new features for the photo and video sharing app (for both iOS and Android) designed to reduce the amount of data it uses while increasing the number of ways users can employ emoji. Travel Mode will disable the app from automatically preloading data-intensive Stories while the device is on a cellular connection. Once enabled, you’ll need to tap on each Story for it to load (though you won’t have to keep pressing). Access this feature through the Manage screen (just click the gear icon in the top right of the screen).
Additionally, incorporating emoji into your snaps is even easier thanks to the new Sticker Picker menu. And rather than only being able to place emoji along a single line of text, you can slap as many as you want, anywhere on the screen. What’s more, users can also now export their Snapcodes as video files, allowing them to be shared on other social media sites.
[Image Credit: shutterstock]
Filed under:
Internet, Mobile, Apple, Google
Via:
TechInsider
Source:
Snapchat (iTunes)
Tags: Android, apple, apps, google, iOS, messaging, mobilepostcross, snapchat, StickerPicker, TravelMode, updates
Sundar Pichai named new Google CEO operating under Alphabet
In what is some pretty darn surprising news, Google Co-Founder Larry Page has announced a few new changes to the company’s organization. The first of which, is made obvious by the title: Sundar Pichai, the man behind Android and Chrome, has been named the new CEO of Google. There are, however, some other new, and major, changes that have been made within Google.
This new structure will allow us to keep tremendous focus on the extraordinary opportunities we have inside of Google. A key part of this is Sundar Pichai. Sundar has been saying the things I would have said (and sometimes better!) for quite some time now, and I’ve been tremendously enjoying our work together… it is clear to us and our board that it is time for Sundar to be CEO of Google.
Google, and all of its other ventures, will now operate under a newly founded company, Alphabet. This newly founded company, will take all the various bits and pieces from Google and they will seemingly run more separate from the group. This hopes to allow these various sub-projects to run smoother and allows the company to have “more management scale”.
Alphabet is mostly a collection of companies. The largest of which, of course, is Google. This newer Google is a bit slimmed down, with the companies that are pretty far afield of our main internet products contained in Alphabet instead. What do we mean by far afield? Good examples are our health efforts: Life Sciences, and Calico . Fundamentally, we believe this allows us more management scale, as we can run things independently that aren’t very related.
From the post made by Larry Page via abc.xyz, Alphabet is allowing for more time to be devoted to projects that the company has been trying to grow. All of this, while, at the same time, allowing the bigger projects like Android or YouTube, to continue working on whatever is up their sleeves.
As for some type of game plan, Mr. Page was kind enough to give us an idea of what Alphabet aims to do as a whole, now that things are changed up:
- Getting more ambitious things done.
- Taking the long-term view.
- Empowering great entrepreneurs and companies to flourish.
- Investing at the scale of the opportunities and resources we see.
- Improving the transparency and oversight of what we’re doing.
- Making Google even better through greater focus.
- And hopefully… as a result of all this, improving the lives of as many people as we can.
All of the news surrounding this is still developing, so we will be sure to have more information as it becomes available. In the meantime, check out this crazy URL, abc.xyz/ and let us know what you think about these new changes to the regime.
Source: abc.xyz
The post Sundar Pichai named new Google CEO operating under Alphabet appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Google reportedly planning a Play Store affiliate program
When it comes to making money on the web, a number of sites, individuals, and sometimes even mass spammers, rely on affiliate marketing as just one of the pathways to profit. With this system, you basically post a link with a special code in it to some kind of product. A consumer buys, and you get a small piece of the pie. One of the most famous examples of affiliating marketing can be seen with Amazon, but according to a new report from 9to5Google, Google may be joining in with its own Play Store affiliate program.
The new program would essentially mean that partners could link to Google music, movies, and even apps. Once these approved items are bought, then the partner would get a small share. Not a lot is known about the program just yet, and Google has yet to confirm or deny such an effort. All we know for sure is, that if the rumor is legit, things are still very much in the early stages. It is also possible that such a program could eventually be extended to Google Store hardware as well.
For what it is worth, this isn’t the first time Google has had such a program. During the days of the Android Market, the Google Affiliate Network was an in-house effort that essentially provided the same type of experience. When the store was rebranded to the Google Play store the program was shut down in the process. Interestingly enough, 9to5 claims that, this time, the program will be powered by Performance Horizon Group, the same company that powers the iTunes affiliate program.
What do you think of the idea of Google creating a new affiliate program for Google Play and even the Google Store? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.
Google founders name Sundar as Google CEO, create new parent company called Alphabet
Out of the blue, Larry Page took to Google’s official blog this afternoon to announce the creation of a new company, Alphabet. So what is Alphabet? Just another of the many companies under Google? No, the exact opposite. Alphabet is a new umbrella company that is a collection of other companies, including Google.
Larry Page will act as CEO of Google’s new parent company, with Sergey Brin as President. As for Google? It is getting slimmed down a bit, with Life Sciences (a company that focuses on glucose-sensing contact lens), Calico (focused on longevity) and some of the other “way out in left field” projects moving under Alphabet’s wings. Yes, that means X Labs is also now under Alphabet and not directly associated with Google.
Google is not a conventional company. We do not intend to become one. – Larry Page
Google will remain focused on Internet products, Android, and other Google-y things with Sundar Pichai now moving into the position of CEO of Google itself. For those wondering, YouTube will remain a semi-independent part of Google as well, with Susan in charge as its CEO.
So why rebrand now? Basically, Google has grown into a giant monster. The idea is that restructuring will allow for better organization, with each company under Alphabet having its own “strong CEO who runs each business” with Sergey and Page “in service to them as needed”. In many ways, the new company will operate similar to the old one, but with more defined lines, better accountability, and more comprehensive structure. Alphabet Inc. will also replace Google Inc. as the publicly traded entity, and all shares of Google will convert into the same number of shares of Alphabet.
Obviously this a huge shake-up and totally unexpected. We’ll be sure to bring you more details as this story develops, as well as some reactions to how the creation of Alphabet changes the company’s structure and identity going forward. For those that want to do a bit more digging, Alphabet has already launched an official website, though there’s not much to see just yet.
What do you think of this massive news? Let us know in the comments below.
Google gets an overhaul and a new CEO: Sundar Pichai
Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have started a new “collection of companies” called Alphabet — and it includes Google. That’s right, now there’s a company bigger than Google. In a letter to investors, Page outlined Alphabet and the changes this new organization will bring, including the appointment of a new Google CEO, Sundar Pichai. Page is now CEO of Alphabet, while Brin is President. Alphabet comprises Google and other companies that have been housed under its primary-colored umbrella, including the X lab (which is building delivery drones), investment arms Ventures and Capital, and health-focused efforts Calico and Life Sciences. “This newer Google is a bit slimmed down, with the companies that are pretty far afield of our main internet products contained in Alphabet instead,” Page writes.
Alphabet puts a lot of power in Brin and Page’s hands. As Page explains it: “In general, our model is to have a strong CEO who runs each business, with Sergey and me in service to them as needed. We will rigorously handle capital allocation and work to make sure each business is executing well. We’ll also make sure we have a great CEO for each business, and we’ll determine their compensation.”
Page and Brin will provide Google’s financial information separately from Alphabet’s in its Q4 results, Page says. To be clear, Google is now a wholly owned subsidiary under Alphabet. For investors, Alphabet Inc. replaces Google Inc. in the public sector and all Google shares will automatically convert into the same number of Alphabet shares, including all current rights.
“I should add that we are not intending for this to be a big consumer brand with related products — the whole point is that Alphabet companies should have independence and develop their own brands,” Page says. YouTube, for its part, remains under Google and retains its own CEO, Susan Wojcicki.
As for the name, Page adds that language is at the core of Google search. Plus, “it means alpha‑bet (Alpha is investment return above benchmark).” Besides, Alphabet can be a great workout:
Filed under:
Misc, Internet, Google
Source:
Google
Tags: alphabet, google
AIVAnet 