Never Lose Again, which is the third work in a three-book series about Google. The first book is titled "How Google Works," the second book is titled "Work Rules," and the third is this very book, whose original title is "Never Lose Again."
This book is about one of Google's products: Google Maps. It tells the history and process of how this application became the company that everyone knows today.
In this book, there are two important characters. The first character is a company you've never heard of called Keyhole. This company was founded in 1999. Not many years later, they had used up all their resources and money, nearly going bankrupt many times over. But don't underestimate this small company, because the Google Maps application that all of you use today was originally a product of this very company.
A company less than five years old went through many storms, and finally, it met our second character: Google. If we were to guess, a small company that could create such an amazing product would surely have many large companies lining up to buy it. But in reality, at that time, no one saw the value of Keyhole. Fortunately, Google bought it, and at that time, Google even doubted its own decision to buy a company that was unrelated to its own products and services.
This brings up two questions. Question one: How did this Keyhole company even think of creating such a product? How did they have the fate to meet Google and create such an amazing product? Question two: How did Google see the future of this company? What was behind the decision of Google's leadership at the time?
First, let's briefly mention the author of this book. His name is Bill Kilday, and he was the former head of marketing at Keyhole. Later, he went to work at Google, where he was responsible for marketing two of Google's products: Google Maps and Google Earth. It can be said that Bill Kilday is the person who knows Keyhole better than anyone else.
From here, we will summarize the key contents in two separate parts. Part one: we will journey through the history of Keyhole and its entrepreneurial path—how they started, what important and correct decisions they made to seize this opportunity, and eventually attract the attention of the giant company, Google. Part two: we will look at Google. How did this giant company have the vision to attract talented people and provide such a great work platform that everyone wants to work there?
Let's get to the first important point. Let's turn back time more than 20 years to when Keyhole was just starting out. At that time, they only had five people. It was a small company, but they had a big ambition: to create an electronic map that was accurate and could be used by everyone.
Here, we have two keywords: "accurate" and "usable by everyone." Achieving both of these is not an easy task. First, let's look at "accurate." How difficult would it be? Looking at the technology from over 20 years ago, putting all the location data into a computer was extremely difficult, because back then, there were no smartphones like we have today. Keyhole's product could only be used on a computer. To make the data clear and accurate, you had to input several terabytes of data. And as everyone knows, over 20 years ago, computer hard disks were only around 512 megabytes. Therefore, to use Keyhole's program, you needed an expensive, high-spec computer, and when you opened the map, the computer would often freeze.
Was there a solution? Yes. But this solution was only for large companies with the resources and courage to spend a lot. It wasn't for ordinary people. At that time, the largest company creating programs to view locations on a map was called Esri. But this company only worked with large corporations or governments, for example, providing location data of criminals to the police or drawing real estate maps for large firms. It required both the creator and the user to be highly skilled in technology. To use Esri's maps, one had to go through training and know how to analyze data proficiently, taking up to four years to get certified by GIS to use it.
At this point, if Keyhole wanted its data to be accurate, based on the technology at the time, it couldn't be made for everyone to use. When Keyhole started its company, it was not the right time at all. The year 2000 was a time of economic crisis that severely impacted tech companies. All US tech companies were facing problems, such as the resignation of key leaders, fraudulent financial reports, and so on, causing many companies to go bankrupt one after another. Large companies had no money for further investment, while new, small companies were closing their doors almost daily. The companies that could survive this huge crisis were already strong, and Keyhole was one of them.
At that time, they were in a very difficult situation. They had no investment money, no money to even buy a website name. They even had to ask to borrow a desk in someone else's office just to work. In such difficult circumstances, for Keyhole to want to continue its dream of creating an accurate electronic map that everyone could use was extremely difficult. To survive, Keyhole had to lower its ambition and find money to feed itself. Or they could follow others, piggyback on large companies, and create some product that could help those large companies, just to survive for a while and think about it later. Or they could reduce what is called "accuracy," having just so-so quality so that ordinary computers could open it and everyone could use it. By doing this, they might capture some of the low-end market share and generate some revenue to continue moving forward.
But Keyhole didn't think like we do. They refused to lower that ambition. They said, "We would rather create a product that meets the market demand of 10 years from now, keeping pace with the development of technology and computers, but we will not give up on this dream." To say it again, what Keyhole wanted to do was create an electronic map that was accurate and could be used by everyone.
In fact, Keyhole's determined struggle was not about being stubborn and not listening to anyone. It was the strong spirit of an entrepreneur and a belief in their own long-term vision, foreseeing the development trends of technology, computer science, and the internet. They believed their value would create immense wealth in the future. That is why they focused on polishing their own product, believing in their own vision, and following the path they had set.
How did they do it? First, to make it usable by everyone, they did a lot of work to make it easy to use, as a tool for users without needing any technical skills. Just by entering the location you want to go to, it will take you to that location instantly, just like how we use Google Maps today. That is why they changed their business model, no longer serving large companies. Instead, they made it available for people around the world to use for free.
The requirement for high-spec computers to run their program was a bit of a challenge at first. But due to the development of technology and the arrival of smartphones, coupled with the expanding internet service coverage at the time, this application became an indispensable program on everyone's mobile phone. To continue making their product easier to use and up-to-date, Keyhole used many resources to collect data from all corners of the globe, putting it into their data storage system to make it easy for users to retrieve when needed. Later, they created another technology called KML (Keyhole Markup Language), which allowed users to share their locations back and forth, something that all of you frequently use now: "Share Location." They thought of this before the internet became as widespread as it is today. But the Keyhole team thought of this and managed to turn it into a tangible product.
Because of this fighting spirit of refusing to give up, a few years later, they turned their situation around 180 degrees. In 2003, they received a collaboration request from CNN, signing a contract worth approximately $75,000. This wasn't a lot of money, but it made the Keyhole team incredibly excited. This was because the other party was a world-class, influential news network, CNN. Not only that, CNN promised that if Keyhole agreed to put its program on the CNN television network, they would display Keyhole's website name on their TV channel. This was equivalent to free and highly effective marketing for Keyhole.
Around March 2003, when the United States invaded Iraq, the eyes of millions of people around the world were watching this event. CNN showcased Keyhole's product to millions of viewers worldwide. At that time, they could see the entire Earth in a calm blue color and could zoom through the clouds to see the changing landscape of the war in real-time. No matter where they zoomed, they didn't forget that Keyhole's website was always on the TV screen.
What's more interesting is that because Keyhole was a company that cared about data from the beginning, their data system contained a lot of data that could facilitate CNN's live broadcasts. They had a collection of images of locations before the war and images after the war, which allowed viewers to see it with their own eyes. Technology that could transmit real-time images like this was not common at that time.
This event caused major news outlets around the world, such as Time Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and others, to rush to report on this company. Through this newfound fame, the world came to know this small company, and many investment firms started to take an interest in investing. Among them was Google.
In the summer of 2004, Google issued a formal letter to invest $30 million in this company. At that time, Google was preparing to go public (IPO) on NASDAQ. But what caught Keyhole's attention was not the $30 million investment. According to their own words, they said, "What interests us is not Google's investment capital, but what is important to us is the data and company culture of Google."
When they decided to join Google, the Keyhole team was also researching their new project: a 3D map. Two years after acquiring Keyhole, Google used Keyhole's existing data to develop Google Maps and Google Earth, which allowed users around the world to check locations and view real, clear images of any place around the globe. Sometimes, millions of users, out of boredom, would go into Google Earth to zoom in on their own rooftops, which often caused Google's servers to go down. Because of this, Google Earth was called the most server-intensive and expensive product among all of Google's products.
The story above is a one-in-a-million stroke of luck for Keyhole, which allowed them to navigate through the millennium, survive the economic crisis and the internet bubble. Not only did they not die during that difficult time, but they also received investment from a giant company for a huge sum of money. The reason is that they knew their vision clearly, fought through all difficulties, foresaw the development of technology and the internet in the future. The fact that they stubbornly refused to lose and focused on polishing their own product is also a reason for Keyhole's success.
Because when it comes to electronic maps, it requires almost 100% accuracy. If there is even a small error in any point, it will lead to the wrong location, which can cause users to lose trust immediately. That is why Keyhole did not develop their product to fit the phones or computers of that era. They wanted to create a program that could keep pace with the development of technology and the internet. Keyhole's success shows us the value of hard work and not straying from one's goals.
In the market, we see two types of companies. The first type is a company that is highly flexible according to the market, always changing its goals according to the actual market demands and chasing short-term profits. The other type sets a long-term goal and strives to run towards that goal without being swayed by market trends. Even if the market changes, they do not show flexibility. Of course, neither of these two paths is good or bad. Sometimes, you can be flexible according to the market situation, act quickly to capture market share first and in greater quantity. At that point, you might see a better direction. But looking from another perspective, we also should not forget the reason why we started. What do we truly want? Where is our vision headed? We shouldn't be swayed by the wind and follow the tide until we forget our original goal.
The above is the first important summary, which talks about the one-in-a-million lucky story of Keyhole, which allowed them to survive despite a major economic crisis. The reason is that they knew how to foresee the development of technology and fought without giving up on their goals, even in the most difficult circumstances.
If we stand from Google's perspective and look at Keyhole, we will see one thing that needs to be considered. We know that Google is a company that collects data from others and puts it on its website, and its main source of revenue is from advertising. You can search for anything on Google. If you want to find information, you just type a few keywords, and you will see millions of results in just a few seconds. If you don't know which one to choose, Google recommends some information that you need. Business owners, if they want their products or services to reach their target customers, have to pay Google. Then Google will place their products or services on the first page, making it easy for users to choose. This allows users to find the information they want easily and quickly. And business owners can attract target customers to see their product or service website.
Listening to this, Google's service doesn't seem to be related to Keyhole. So why did they choose to buy a company that provides a service so unrelated to them? Later, we know that it was a very correct and one of the most profitable decisions in history. They not only created Google Maps, which has more than a billion active users worldwide, they also led the Keyhole team to create two other innovative products: Google Earth and Google Street View. These three products have completely changed the experience of living and have allowed us to reach any place on earth in just a few seconds. If you miss your home, you can go to Google Earth and zoom in on your rooftop.
We all know that it was a very correct decision. But why, more than 20 years ago, did Google decide to do this? What opportunities did they see behind this small company? The answer is due to two factors: the business model and Google's strategy.
Speaking of Google's business model, we think of two people, the co-founders of Google: Larry Page and Sergey Brin. When they first created Google, before it had any revenue, these two men saw very clearly that, looking at the trend of development and the scope of internet use, whether young or old, male or female, everyone in the world needs a platform that gathers the information they need easily and for free. Here there are two keywords: "easy" and "free." Larry Page had said long ago that if a company could do this, it would be worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Therefore, Google's "zen" is to have these two things: easy and free.
When Google was just starting out, Larry Page invited the head of EchoStar to come and share his experience at their company. At that time, the 2000 economic crisis had hit tech companies hard. Many companies closed their doors and declared bankruptcy. But EchoStar grew strongly, and its value at that time was over $10 billion. Later, Larry Page told his team, "Do you all see? The products that EchoStar sells are not products they created themselves. They don't know how to make satellites; they lease them for use. They also don't know how to produce TV programs themselves, but they can buy the broadcasting rights from TV production companies. The equipment to receive signals from satellites is also bought from China. As for the TV service equipment, they buy it from Motorola. Their job is just to deliver those TV programs to the homes of users around the world. Just by doing this, this company is worth tens of billions of dollars."
This business model had a very strong influence on Larry Page, which is why Google has a similar business model. Their only job is to collect information on the internet and provide it to users around the world. It doesn't matter who that information belongs to. What's important is that on Google, you can find anything you want.
At this point, we can understand a bit about the decision to buy Keyhole at that time; it was a perfect fit for Google. Because Keyhole already had this data. And Google's job was just to tweak it a little, put it on their very simple website which only had a search box, and it would become a polished gem. But this gem, besides Google, would be difficult for others to polish.
Using the same playbook, Google also applied it to other areas of its services, such as Google News. They didn't go and write the news themselves. Their job is to collect all the news and put it on a single page, which makes it easy for users to use. This is why this book has the original English title "Never Lose Again," but we want to give it a second title: "The Google Playbook" instead. Because in this book, it mostly talks about the playbook of the giant company Google, which buys small and large tech companies, over 200 of them, modifies them just a little, and they can become companies worth billions of dollars, like YouTube and Android. For example, the case of buying YouTube. 15 years ago, Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company, bought YouTube for only $1.65 billion. But now, YouTube is worth up to $170 billion.
Understanding this reason, we can now understand why Google decided to buy Keyhole, a company that makes electronic maps, which on the surface seems to have nothing to do with their services. This decision also reveals Google's entire strategy and playbook. Because Google's goal is to collect all the data on the internet and put it on their website, which previously only had text and images. But now, from YouTube, they get videos. From Keyhole, they get location information. And they continue to buy more small and large companies, such as in the phone manufacturing sector, they bought Motorola in its entirety to get all the intellectual property. They bought Android to get phone data. They bought the advertising company DoubleClick to get business owner information. These companies seem unrelated, but they are all part of the same playbook of Google.
Returning to the electronic map program, Google Maps, it is still a program that Larry Page loves and cares about the most. According to his own words, he said, "Google Maps is the most important core product of Google." It has gathered all the information around the world, from one country to a small village, down to a small grocery store, you can find it. It has changed the way we travel and brought us to any place around the world.
The above are the key highlights that I have summarized from the book "Never Lose Again" for you all. Through the storyline and adventurous history of Keyhole, we can see that many big tech companies started small and had a big dream. Many companies have succeeded, and even more have failed, disappearing from the market before we even heard their names. The achievements we see in the market today have all gone through a bitter history and failures many times over, until they reached a point of recognition from the market and users. But when a program is recognized, its value will skyrocket.
In the age of technology, where people spend most of their time with their phones, behind the fingertip-sized phone apps on our screens, there are thousands, tens of thousands of people working on them and continuing to provide convenience to all of us in almost every situation.
This book is about one of Google's products: Google Maps. It tells the history and process of how this application became the company that everyone knows today.
In this book, there are two important characters. The first character is a company you've never heard of called Keyhole. This company was founded in 1999. Not many years later, they had used up all their resources and money, nearly going bankrupt many times over. But don't underestimate this small company, because the Google Maps application that all of you use today was originally a product of this very company.
A company less than five years old went through many storms, and finally, it met our second character: Google. If we were to guess, a small company that could create such an amazing product would surely have many large companies lining up to buy it. But in reality, at that time, no one saw the value of Keyhole. Fortunately, Google bought it, and at that time, Google even doubted its own decision to buy a company that was unrelated to its own products and services.
This brings up two questions. Question one: How did this Keyhole company even think of creating such a product? How did they have the fate to meet Google and create such an amazing product? Question two: How did Google see the future of this company? What was behind the decision of Google's leadership at the time?
First, let's briefly mention the author of this book. His name is Bill Kilday, and he was the former head of marketing at Keyhole. Later, he went to work at Google, where he was responsible for marketing two of Google's products: Google Maps and Google Earth. It can be said that Bill Kilday is the person who knows Keyhole better than anyone else.
From here, we will summarize the key contents in two separate parts. Part one: we will journey through the history of Keyhole and its entrepreneurial path—how they started, what important and correct decisions they made to seize this opportunity, and eventually attract the attention of the giant company, Google. Part two: we will look at Google. How did this giant company have the vision to attract talented people and provide such a great work platform that everyone wants to work there?
Let's get to the first important point. Let's turn back time more than 20 years to when Keyhole was just starting out. At that time, they only had five people. It was a small company, but they had a big ambition: to create an electronic map that was accurate and could be used by everyone.
Here, we have two keywords: "accurate" and "usable by everyone." Achieving both of these is not an easy task. First, let's look at "accurate." How difficult would it be? Looking at the technology from over 20 years ago, putting all the location data into a computer was extremely difficult, because back then, there were no smartphones like we have today. Keyhole's product could only be used on a computer. To make the data clear and accurate, you had to input several terabytes of data. And as everyone knows, over 20 years ago, computer hard disks were only around 512 megabytes. Therefore, to use Keyhole's program, you needed an expensive, high-spec computer, and when you opened the map, the computer would often freeze.
Was there a solution? Yes. But this solution was only for large companies with the resources and courage to spend a lot. It wasn't for ordinary people. At that time, the largest company creating programs to view locations on a map was called Esri. But this company only worked with large corporations or governments, for example, providing location data of criminals to the police or drawing real estate maps for large firms. It required both the creator and the user to be highly skilled in technology. To use Esri's maps, one had to go through training and know how to analyze data proficiently, taking up to four years to get certified by GIS to use it.
At this point, if Keyhole wanted its data to be accurate, based on the technology at the time, it couldn't be made for everyone to use. When Keyhole started its company, it was not the right time at all. The year 2000 was a time of economic crisis that severely impacted tech companies. All US tech companies were facing problems, such as the resignation of key leaders, fraudulent financial reports, and so on, causing many companies to go bankrupt one after another. Large companies had no money for further investment, while new, small companies were closing their doors almost daily. The companies that could survive this huge crisis were already strong, and Keyhole was one of them.
At that time, they were in a very difficult situation. They had no investment money, no money to even buy a website name. They even had to ask to borrow a desk in someone else's office just to work. In such difficult circumstances, for Keyhole to want to continue its dream of creating an accurate electronic map that everyone could use was extremely difficult. To survive, Keyhole had to lower its ambition and find money to feed itself. Or they could follow others, piggyback on large companies, and create some product that could help those large companies, just to survive for a while and think about it later. Or they could reduce what is called "accuracy," having just so-so quality so that ordinary computers could open it and everyone could use it. By doing this, they might capture some of the low-end market share and generate some revenue to continue moving forward.
But Keyhole didn't think like we do. They refused to lower that ambition. They said, "We would rather create a product that meets the market demand of 10 years from now, keeping pace with the development of technology and computers, but we will not give up on this dream." To say it again, what Keyhole wanted to do was create an electronic map that was accurate and could be used by everyone.
In fact, Keyhole's determined struggle was not about being stubborn and not listening to anyone. It was the strong spirit of an entrepreneur and a belief in their own long-term vision, foreseeing the development trends of technology, computer science, and the internet. They believed their value would create immense wealth in the future. That is why they focused on polishing their own product, believing in their own vision, and following the path they had set.
How did they do it? First, to make it usable by everyone, they did a lot of work to make it easy to use, as a tool for users without needing any technical skills. Just by entering the location you want to go to, it will take you to that location instantly, just like how we use Google Maps today. That is why they changed their business model, no longer serving large companies. Instead, they made it available for people around the world to use for free.
The requirement for high-spec computers to run their program was a bit of a challenge at first. But due to the development of technology and the arrival of smartphones, coupled with the expanding internet service coverage at the time, this application became an indispensable program on everyone's mobile phone. To continue making their product easier to use and up-to-date, Keyhole used many resources to collect data from all corners of the globe, putting it into their data storage system to make it easy for users to retrieve when needed. Later, they created another technology called KML (Keyhole Markup Language), which allowed users to share their locations back and forth, something that all of you frequently use now: "Share Location." They thought of this before the internet became as widespread as it is today. But the Keyhole team thought of this and managed to turn it into a tangible product.
Because of this fighting spirit of refusing to give up, a few years later, they turned their situation around 180 degrees. In 2003, they received a collaboration request from CNN, signing a contract worth approximately $75,000. This wasn't a lot of money, but it made the Keyhole team incredibly excited. This was because the other party was a world-class, influential news network, CNN. Not only that, CNN promised that if Keyhole agreed to put its program on the CNN television network, they would display Keyhole's website name on their TV channel. This was equivalent to free and highly effective marketing for Keyhole.
Around March 2003, when the United States invaded Iraq, the eyes of millions of people around the world were watching this event. CNN showcased Keyhole's product to millions of viewers worldwide. At that time, they could see the entire Earth in a calm blue color and could zoom through the clouds to see the changing landscape of the war in real-time. No matter where they zoomed, they didn't forget that Keyhole's website was always on the TV screen.
What's more interesting is that because Keyhole was a company that cared about data from the beginning, their data system contained a lot of data that could facilitate CNN's live broadcasts. They had a collection of images of locations before the war and images after the war, which allowed viewers to see it with their own eyes. Technology that could transmit real-time images like this was not common at that time.
This event caused major news outlets around the world, such as Time Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and others, to rush to report on this company. Through this newfound fame, the world came to know this small company, and many investment firms started to take an interest in investing. Among them was Google.
In the summer of 2004, Google issued a formal letter to invest $30 million in this company. At that time, Google was preparing to go public (IPO) on NASDAQ. But what caught Keyhole's attention was not the $30 million investment. According to their own words, they said, "What interests us is not Google's investment capital, but what is important to us is the data and company culture of Google."
When they decided to join Google, the Keyhole team was also researching their new project: a 3D map. Two years after acquiring Keyhole, Google used Keyhole's existing data to develop Google Maps and Google Earth, which allowed users around the world to check locations and view real, clear images of any place around the globe. Sometimes, millions of users, out of boredom, would go into Google Earth to zoom in on their own rooftops, which often caused Google's servers to go down. Because of this, Google Earth was called the most server-intensive and expensive product among all of Google's products.
The story above is a one-in-a-million stroke of luck for Keyhole, which allowed them to navigate through the millennium, survive the economic crisis and the internet bubble. Not only did they not die during that difficult time, but they also received investment from a giant company for a huge sum of money. The reason is that they knew their vision clearly, fought through all difficulties, foresaw the development of technology and the internet in the future. The fact that they stubbornly refused to lose and focused on polishing their own product is also a reason for Keyhole's success.
Because when it comes to electronic maps, it requires almost 100% accuracy. If there is even a small error in any point, it will lead to the wrong location, which can cause users to lose trust immediately. That is why Keyhole did not develop their product to fit the phones or computers of that era. They wanted to create a program that could keep pace with the development of technology and the internet. Keyhole's success shows us the value of hard work and not straying from one's goals.
In the market, we see two types of companies. The first type is a company that is highly flexible according to the market, always changing its goals according to the actual market demands and chasing short-term profits. The other type sets a long-term goal and strives to run towards that goal without being swayed by market trends. Even if the market changes, they do not show flexibility. Of course, neither of these two paths is good or bad. Sometimes, you can be flexible according to the market situation, act quickly to capture market share first and in greater quantity. At that point, you might see a better direction. But looking from another perspective, we also should not forget the reason why we started. What do we truly want? Where is our vision headed? We shouldn't be swayed by the wind and follow the tide until we forget our original goal.
The above is the first important summary, which talks about the one-in-a-million lucky story of Keyhole, which allowed them to survive despite a major economic crisis. The reason is that they knew how to foresee the development of technology and fought without giving up on their goals, even in the most difficult circumstances.
If we stand from Google's perspective and look at Keyhole, we will see one thing that needs to be considered. We know that Google is a company that collects data from others and puts it on its website, and its main source of revenue is from advertising. You can search for anything on Google. If you want to find information, you just type a few keywords, and you will see millions of results in just a few seconds. If you don't know which one to choose, Google recommends some information that you need. Business owners, if they want their products or services to reach their target customers, have to pay Google. Then Google will place their products or services on the first page, making it easy for users to choose. This allows users to find the information they want easily and quickly. And business owners can attract target customers to see their product or service website.
Listening to this, Google's service doesn't seem to be related to Keyhole. So why did they choose to buy a company that provides a service so unrelated to them? Later, we know that it was a very correct and one of the most profitable decisions in history. They not only created Google Maps, which has more than a billion active users worldwide, they also led the Keyhole team to create two other innovative products: Google Earth and Google Street View. These three products have completely changed the experience of living and have allowed us to reach any place on earth in just a few seconds. If you miss your home, you can go to Google Earth and zoom in on your rooftop.
We all know that it was a very correct decision. But why, more than 20 years ago, did Google decide to do this? What opportunities did they see behind this small company? The answer is due to two factors: the business model and Google's strategy.
Speaking of Google's business model, we think of two people, the co-founders of Google: Larry Page and Sergey Brin. When they first created Google, before it had any revenue, these two men saw very clearly that, looking at the trend of development and the scope of internet use, whether young or old, male or female, everyone in the world needs a platform that gathers the information they need easily and for free. Here there are two keywords: "easy" and "free." Larry Page had said long ago that if a company could do this, it would be worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Therefore, Google's "zen" is to have these two things: easy and free.
When Google was just starting out, Larry Page invited the head of EchoStar to come and share his experience at their company. At that time, the 2000 economic crisis had hit tech companies hard. Many companies closed their doors and declared bankruptcy. But EchoStar grew strongly, and its value at that time was over $10 billion. Later, Larry Page told his team, "Do you all see? The products that EchoStar sells are not products they created themselves. They don't know how to make satellites; they lease them for use. They also don't know how to produce TV programs themselves, but they can buy the broadcasting rights from TV production companies. The equipment to receive signals from satellites is also bought from China. As for the TV service equipment, they buy it from Motorola. Their job is just to deliver those TV programs to the homes of users around the world. Just by doing this, this company is worth tens of billions of dollars."
This business model had a very strong influence on Larry Page, which is why Google has a similar business model. Their only job is to collect information on the internet and provide it to users around the world. It doesn't matter who that information belongs to. What's important is that on Google, you can find anything you want.
At this point, we can understand a bit about the decision to buy Keyhole at that time; it was a perfect fit for Google. Because Keyhole already had this data. And Google's job was just to tweak it a little, put it on their very simple website which only had a search box, and it would become a polished gem. But this gem, besides Google, would be difficult for others to polish.
Using the same playbook, Google also applied it to other areas of its services, such as Google News. They didn't go and write the news themselves. Their job is to collect all the news and put it on a single page, which makes it easy for users to use. This is why this book has the original English title "Never Lose Again," but we want to give it a second title: "The Google Playbook" instead. Because in this book, it mostly talks about the playbook of the giant company Google, which buys small and large tech companies, over 200 of them, modifies them just a little, and they can become companies worth billions of dollars, like YouTube and Android. For example, the case of buying YouTube. 15 years ago, Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company, bought YouTube for only $1.65 billion. But now, YouTube is worth up to $170 billion.
Understanding this reason, we can now understand why Google decided to buy Keyhole, a company that makes electronic maps, which on the surface seems to have nothing to do with their services. This decision also reveals Google's entire strategy and playbook. Because Google's goal is to collect all the data on the internet and put it on their website, which previously only had text and images. But now, from YouTube, they get videos. From Keyhole, they get location information. And they continue to buy more small and large companies, such as in the phone manufacturing sector, they bought Motorola in its entirety to get all the intellectual property. They bought Android to get phone data. They bought the advertising company DoubleClick to get business owner information. These companies seem unrelated, but they are all part of the same playbook of Google.
Returning to the electronic map program, Google Maps, it is still a program that Larry Page loves and cares about the most. According to his own words, he said, "Google Maps is the most important core product of Google." It has gathered all the information around the world, from one country to a small village, down to a small grocery store, you can find it. It has changed the way we travel and brought us to any place around the world.
The above are the key highlights that I have summarized from the book "Never Lose Again" for you all. Through the storyline and adventurous history of Keyhole, we can see that many big tech companies started small and had a big dream. Many companies have succeeded, and even more have failed, disappearing from the market before we even heard their names. The achievements we see in the market today have all gone through a bitter history and failures many times over, until they reached a point of recognition from the market and users. But when a program is recognized, its value will skyrocket.
In the age of technology, where people spend most of their time with their phones, behind the fingertip-sized phone apps on our screens, there are thousands, tens of thousands of people working on them and continuing to provide convenience to all of us in almost every situation.