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# Algorithms Can Only Do So Much
- URL: https://www.philsimon.com/algorithms-can-only-do-so-much/
- Published: 2012-04-16T10:59:51.000Z
- Updated: 2025-12-30T03:05:21.000Z
- Description: Google makes so much more money than Facebook. So why is the former scared of the latter?
- Author: Phil Simon
- Tags: Platforms, Facebook/Meta, Frenemies, Google, The Age of the Platform

ReadWriteWeb recently ran an excellent story on [Why Google Is Terrified of Facebook](https://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/why%5Ffacebook%5Fterrifies%5Fgoogle.ph?ref=philsimon.com). For people trying to understand why Google places so much emphasis on Plus and social networks, look no further. Forget *current* differences in revenue, market capitalization, and other measures for a moment. Emphasis on current.

As I write in the book, Google's top brass is smart enough to understand [*The Innovator's Dilemma*](https://www.amazon.com/The-Innovators-Dilemma-Revolutionary-Business/dp/0062060244/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334549031&sr=8-1&ref=philsimon.com). In the Age of the Platform, nothing is guaranteed. Leads can shrink in a very short period of times.

Politics aside, in part this is why [Sergey Brin recently called for "a more open" Internet](https://www.wired.com/epicenter/2012/04/open-web-google-brin/?ref=philsimon.com). Facebook understands us in ways that Google simply cannot.