In the wake of its $1.65 billion acquisition of YouTube, a schism has developed between senior management of Google over the fate of the venerable Company's name. One group, lead by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, wants the company to rename itself GooTube. Another, led by Google CEO Eric Schmidt, prefers YouGle.
Both groups appear to agree the Google name has got to go, a stance with which the investment community concurs. “Google and googling and all that stuff is so 2005,” said one industry analyst. “The Company was at the cutting edge of things for an unbelievably long time -- 13, 14 months, at least -- but now it’s pretty much old hat.” YouTube, on the other hand, is seen as the next wave of an interactive relationship among users. Google, for all of its popularity, is top-down, with the search engine “telling” users what sites to visit. YouTube, on the other hand, is non-hierarchical, created by users, ranked by users and watched by users.
Still, conservatives such as Page and Brin -- who support GooTube -- want a new name that is more reflective of the Company’s heritage, giving prominence in the first syllable to their creation and consigning YouTube to the ignominy of the second. The Schmidt faction, on the other hand, wants to downplay the past and embrace what it clearly sees as the YouTube future. “YouTube is fresh and exciting, capturing the imaginations of Internet users throughout the world, and the name YouGle reflects that enthusiasm,” said one source close to the Schmidt group. “We figure it’s got a least six good months before the next big thing comes along, and we want to capitalize on that.”