Google: As Open As It Wants To Be (IE, When It's Convenient):
In two weeks, we've had two "open" initiatives from Google: OpenSocial, to free social networking data from behind the Facebook walled garden and the Open Handset Alliance, to free cell phones from a myriad of complicated mobile OS platforms and carriers who want to restrict features. I've seen some people writing about open as the new black, with Google showing its fashion sense by dressing in the latest color. But lest anyone think that Google's wardrobe is being replaced with an all-open line-up, it's worth remembering that recently, open mainly fits Google when it's behind competitively in a space. Let's consider the places where staying closed is what suits Google best. ...... If I come off as harsh, well, I also do a lot of defending of Google as well, as I just did yesterday about Cringley's post. My goal in this, as with many posts, is to provide some balance. And those thinking Google has swallowed the open Kool-Aid need to think again.
Google does do plenty of things I find encouraging on the open front. They hooked up with the Open Invention Network a few months back. Google was the driving force to get search engines united around the Sitemaps standard. There are no doubt many other examples of where Google is involved with collective, open-source style projects.
But these things are far from an institutional mandate, from what I've seen so far -- and the latest, most prominent efforts come because being open makes good business sense for Google, not because it makes good sense in general.
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