An exhaustive profile of Google in Wired UK doesn't pinpoint any new direction in the company --- after all, Schmidt says, there is no one- or five-year strategy, anyway --- but it does suggest some tactical next steps.
Likely, the company's next big venture will involve advertising display, one of the underperforming areas of the Internet. And Schmidt hints mobile is a major next destination.
Google's acquisition of DoubleClick will be one of the catalysts for the new initiative, which CEO Eric Schmidt believes will be lucrative for the newspaper industry as the audience shifts in larger numbers from offline to online.
He believes the traditional news business will be saved, but notes the difficulty in associating content with advertising online.
“The fundamental problem is the news industry has this strange bargain where the traditional print ads and classifieds paid for investigative reporting, which was highly valuable and very expensive. But it’s very hard to advertise against ‘murderer’ or ‘war’.” He laughs. “So it’s a funny kind of packaging problem."
