Google shares started at $85 on NASDAQ today, and closed just above $100, a pretty nice first day pop, showing the auction process was a bit cumbersome for many who wanted shares.
So there are some new millionaires (and a couple billionaires) in the Valley tonight. They earned it. Let's remember the prevailing wisdom at the time Google emerged: Search was pass�; content was it. Everybody wanted to be a 'portal' and piled features into their user interface. 'Stickiness' was in - keep the users on your site. And make the ads as intrusive as necessary to keep the sponsor revenue coming in.
Google turned this on its head. More effective search, continually improved. An interface stripped to the minimum. An emphasis on moving the user to his or her goal, sometimes in one 'lucky' click. Minimalist text ads that were pulled if they failed to draw sufficient interest. In short, an emphasis on the customer.
It seems so obvious now that the usual debunkers and naysayers have already started the envious whinging about the payout. At the time, it took real courage for Mssrs. Brin and Page and their funders to challenge the wisdom of 'content is king.' It's what this business is about, on its good days. Well done, and well deserved.