More Cracks at Google

This column was originally published on RealMoney on Jan. 3 at 10:14 a.m. EST. It's being republished as a bonus for TheStreet.com readers. For more information about subscribing to RealMoney, please click here.

Google (GOOG Quote) used to get it. I mean, in a pure sense, this company really got it.

I used to fawn over the virtues of Google's open strategies, in which it worked to empower the individual and become the de facto conduit of information flow in the new world.

And Google is still by far the best Internet property out there. Its search results rock, and it remains a de facto standard in search. Its advertising network is mind-blowing in its simplicity and, increasingly, in its reach across platforms (Internet, radio, newspaper, etc.) and breadth (graphics, audio, print). I've owned Google since the day it came public, and I'm not about to sell it today. Indeed, I'm a buyer of it, as I'll detail later. ...