GOOG is a FRAUD and it will be a NTES Sequel
This is a total mess:
* "Plans" to enter tons of new businesses- Cell phone, IP hosting, WiFi hostin, LD transport, print ad sales, content rental, and on and on and NO SUBSTANCE
* TOTAL control of the financial media- NYT LOVEFEST two Sundays in a row- this company's a goog as T.O. (In his mind)
* Relentless hype and discussion of 300 year plans, 70-20-10 strategies where 10% of the "projects" are 'determined' by the employee experimentation;
* Co-option of the financial media- Q3 up 700% !!!!!! We'll ignore the write off last year and the history of financial shenanigans on key items like depreciation, cap ex, options;
* Absurd lack of guidance- capex for 2005 goes from $500m to $800m and there's a new business plan every week. What if GOOG "wins" the 'contract' to provide WiFi to California for free??
* Consistent abuse of the Internet- spamming, click fraud, the new 'promotional' splogs, the keywork ad pricing scheme with WHAT f*ing return on a ROI model??? (Remember the eBay ad guy who screamed about the ripoff in Q2? No, he's silenced..);
* Violation of independent content ownership- this company is a trademark and copyright lawyer's wet dream- Louis Vuitton, GEICO, Staples, and on and on for examples of trademark infringement - but where is the info on the "settlements" and the denials that the keyword pricing is INFLATED heavily by fads and the assertion that your purchase of this keyword will a) hurt Viking Office Products and b) send their customers your way??
* Copyright infringement- Page and Brin say stealing it is legal unless you "opt out" from having it stolen... Well, BS as the American Association of Publishers has not pointed out in a big lawsuit;
* Click Fraud- 30% of advertising traffic on the net is computer generated solely for inflating the bills of GOOG, AOL, YHOO and other ad sellers. GOOG's practices are the WORST according to the trade press.
* Accounting choices- GOOG's accounting is truly groundbreaking- ongoing depreciation of its netork is being capitalized as an asset when computer prices are falling through the floor. INTC, AMD and others point out that there's excess chip inventory going into Q4 and the Book to Bill has just rolled over to 1,03 going negative.
* Aggregious share awards to management- $2B in shars dumped by management in "planned" programs- daily sales by management combined with amazing share payments to market makers like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs during the past year. $700m gains? $500m gains for AOL and other online partners who are tied into GOOG's fortunes by the TAC ("traffic acquisition costs") points to the game played long before by Steve Case and his H&Q buddies when they bamboozled Time Warner's Levin to PAY UP !!
* And the corrupt resurrection of the Mary Meeker's, Tony Noto's and other characters who are completely shameless snake oil promoters.
So much additional "non-good" activity has not been covered in this post but there is a $100B fraud being conducted right before our eyes. Caveat emptor..