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April 15, 2008

Googolopoly

Mark Hendrickson

55 comments »

Earlier today I wrote about my eagerness for Google GDrive, a cloud-based file management service that has been rumored for years now.

The idea that Google could swoop in and dominate the online storage market certainly doesn’t help the founders of several startups sleep better at night. But they aren’t without their arguments for why a Google solution would be bad for consumers.

Box.net has come up with the following clever response to the idea that Google should control all of our information, including our files (click for a bigger view).

As the company describes it:

The goal of the game is to use Google shares to buy as many properties as you can without landing in the deadpool and losing your stock. As with any great board game, there’s a very real metaphor to what’s going on…. What happens when the Google monster gobbles up all that is left in the web world, is present on your cell phone, desktop, and even controls your health information? For all their product excellence, the threat of amassing this much data is too serious to ignore.

So the real question is, does placing Box.net on the board (between none other than LinkedIn and Facebook) mean the company sees itself as Google acquisition bait? And how do fellow startups Loopt and Scribd feel about being placed on Mediterranean and Baltic?

  • Sphere It

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 15th, 2008 at 6:22 pm and is filed under Company & Product Profiles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Trackbacks/Pings (Trackback URL)

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Comments

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  1. Jon

    April 15th, 2008 at 6:26 pm

    Regardless of whether this is “buy me” bate or not… the guy owning box.com is probably laughing his way to the bank. He does nothing and makes a living off affiliates for box.net!

    Jon
    http://dreamclue.com …get the message!

  2. chantelle

    April 15th, 2008 at 6:27 pm

    Is it really google’s game - or are they just the bankers? When I was the banker I cheated.

  3. Brij

    April 15th, 2008 at 6:27 pm

    +1 for creativity.

  4. bs

    April 15th, 2008 at 6:29 pm

    I like how you guys whine about “gdrive” which will never come out, but never mention Microsoft SkyDrive, which is exactly what you’re looking for.

    http://skydrive.live.com/

    5 gigs from a trusted name. very great tool.

  5. Samir

    April 15th, 2008 at 6:29 pm

    haha I love the game! I can’t wait for Monopoly to actually put a Google version out. Don’t think it’s not going to happen… it will, just a matter of time

  6. Kevin

    April 15th, 2008 at 6:30 pm

    So what happens when Broadway and Park Place become one… does everyone else want to stop playing the game?

  7. Janette Toral

    April 15th, 2008 at 6:30 pm

    I think they have an interesting game concept there. Will try it out.

    I think Gmail is partly acting as a storage solution at this point with its huge capacity. But then it will be great to have a tied-in solution similar to how Yahoo did in the past. Hopefully, they’ll be more flexible in terms of file size and tied in to the e-mail service.

  8. Chris

    April 15th, 2008 at 6:36 pm

    The whole photoshop job is just somebody(Alex) externalizing his fear. Fear of Google. It’s an amusing clip art piece, but in the end, even if Alex doesn’t think it’s fair, it doesn’t matter. Even if everybody here doesn’t think it’s fair, it doesn’t matter.

    Shouldn’t he put his energy into planning to liquidate at the highest resale value possible(Edgeio didn’t do so good) instead of drawing up gifs and trying to get people to sympathize?

    That’s pointless. He should use his energies to try to make the most money possible while he still can and try to plan his next venture.

  9. Grant

    April 15th, 2008 at 6:47 pm

    On the subject of a “gdrive,” maybe Google doesn’t want users to use storage just for the point of storage.

    Look at Gmail. It has tons of storage available, at about 6.5 gb right now. But gGogle seems to crack down on attempts to use that space for storage; large file transfers will result in you getting locked out of your gmail account.

    The majority of users are probably using somewhere between 0 to 20 mb. For Google, gmails storage is it’s selling point, along with it’s antispam protection. The users who actually need 6 gb are kept happy by the every expanding storage.

    For Google, gmail’s storage is an advertisement, albeit a costly one. But if Google encouraged people to fill their storage capacity with backups… the price raises. For what?

  10. Rob Sandie

    April 15th, 2008 at 6:48 pm

    I can’t wait to pass go and get 200 Adsense Dollars!

  11. Rahul Kumar

    April 15th, 2008 at 6:51 pm

    Weak….I also don’t get why Windows Live skydrive isn’t mentioned. Alongside Windows Live Foldershare its the most solid product on the net in terms of storage, considering its free. You guys should show that.

  12. YDrive

    April 15th, 2008 at 6:51 pm

    Cutie preso! LOL… :-D

  13. Chris

    April 15th, 2008 at 6:53 pm

    “I also don’t get why Windows Live skydrive isn’t mentioned.”
    http://www.apple.com/dotmac/idisk.html

    And I’m a PC!

  14. pb

    April 15th, 2008 at 6:56 pm

    Where can I buy this game?

  15. Rahul Kumar

    April 15th, 2008 at 7:02 pm

    wel.. chris i use a mac, but i want stuff for free. apple needs to realize that charging people for superior product doesnt really work in the web 2.0 market.

  16. alex

    April 15th, 2008 at 7:03 pm

    You don’t even have to buy it… Just print your own version from here:
    http://www.box.net/shared/dguu2bfy88 (you’ll find pieces, cards, and everything you need to play in the pdf)

  17. Charlie

    April 15th, 2008 at 7:11 pm

    I like how some of the concepts map really well, eg the utilities become AdWords and AdSense, and the railroads become a sort of combination of platforms (mobile, desktop, social, web app). Not bad.

  18. Jon Doerr

    April 15th, 2008 at 7:21 pm

    I’ll bet $20 Hasbro ping them/you guys for copyright infringement.

  19. xxdesmus

    April 15th, 2008 at 7:21 pm

    Box.net +1

    I swear by Box.net, awesome product, innovative, and highly reliable.

  20. foo

    April 15th, 2008 at 7:22 pm

    Oh yeah, and I’m sure these guys would turn down a buyout offer from Google. On principle, guys! Idiots.

  21. Andrew

    April 15th, 2008 at 7:32 pm

    It will never fly. Would you really buy this game! Perhaps we can buy shares into it…. maybe then.

  22. Jozzua

    April 15th, 2008 at 7:42 pm

    Hahah. Nice game board. Clever of them indeed. Now, would anyone like to play?

  23. Scott

    April 15th, 2008 at 7:48 pm

    I’m still laughing at the idea that box.net thinks it belongs in between linkedin and facebook! That may be aiming a bit high IMHO…

  24. Zoli Erdos

    April 15th, 2008 at 7:55 pm

    Smart marketing for box.net :-)

  25. YDrive

    April 15th, 2008 at 8:11 pm

    @24 -
    at least much better than those swisher sick jokes at http://allthingsd.com/ :-)

  26. Joe Bean

    April 15th, 2008 at 9:07 pm

    I say, anyone up for a game of Yahoo!opoly?

    http://flickr.com/photos/jerem.....015297897/

  27. Gubatron

    April 15th, 2008 at 9:28 pm

    Box.net is boring, they should be concerned not only of google’s unicorn gdrive, but from a lot of other competition that can also do more storage for free and add value to the files with filesharing, search, and social features.

  28. NickeyD

    April 15th, 2008 at 9:43 pm

    I’m actually surprised that Scribd is still around. Probably gone by the next version.

  29. Marilyn

    April 15th, 2008 at 9:51 pm

    Scribd is actually an Alexa top 500 site:

    http://www.alexa.com/data/deta.....scribd.com

  30. Ben

    April 15th, 2008 at 10:02 pm

    Hilarious! Good luck to Aaron and the rest of the Box team.

  31. Ben

    April 15th, 2008 at 10:04 pm

    Another funny (although less complex) graphic here:

    http://cloudstorage.wordpress......or-gdrive/

  32. Goorsha Billu

    April 15th, 2008 at 11:07 pm

    The much anticipated GDrive is still no where to be seen. In the meantime, it is true that lost of file backup, sharing and syncing site are poping up every where. Thousands of online backup companies exist, from one guy operating in his apartment to fortune 500 companies (the recent entrant are HP and WellsFargo)

    I recently read on an article that said, “70-75% of all PC’s will be connected to online backup services with in the next decade”.

    Choosing the best online backup company will be very confusing and difficult. One website I find very helpful in making a decision to pick an online backup company is:

    BackupReview.info

    This site lists more than 400 online backup companies in its directory and ranks the top 25 on a monthly basis.

  33. rainbow

    April 16th, 2008 at 12:03 am

    Please Google, “don´t be evil”.

  34. Jan

    April 16th, 2008 at 12:10 am

    If only Box.net was not working their asses off to be where they are now. It is a highly competitive market out there.

  35. Chris

    April 16th, 2008 at 12:41 am

    Google has become WAY too powerful and rich:

    This is dangerous in since it’s happening in technology which is a field that 85% of the population have NO idea of what it’s capable of and thus say ‘yes, cool’ to everything that happens in this field.

    I encourage you to drop Google products and use competitor offers.

    For your own future’s sake.

  36. Andy Wong

    April 16th, 2008 at 6:26 pm

    It is not bad for Google to stay out of the game for a while, as the others have been busy growing the online storage markets. When Google come up with “GDrive”, all users with existing storage providers will simply move to Google, as the service of online storage is not sticky, and Google will look more promising with all its bandwidth and machine farms.

  37. Googletrap

    April 16th, 2008 at 10:55 pm

    Coole game! Google is a Googzilla….an uncontrolled power….
    http://www.googletrap.com

  38. Widgity

    April 17th, 2008 at 11:01 am

    Hey! That’s MY term! I’ve used it in posts (comments I left on TC and Mashable) over a month ago.

    Hmm…. methinks I have a case?

    Maybe not. I didn’t file a TM application… Damn. I should have.

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