Google is the most popular search engine in history. Not many would dispute this statement. Part of what made Google so successful (and profitable) was its responsiveness to customers rather than investors. This is because Google, unlike Yahoo, is a privately held company and doesn't have to answer to shareholders who want ever-increasing profits.

This arrangement is about to end. Google plans to go public sometime next year, in what will inevitably lead to one of the biggest initial public offerings of stock in recent memory. Google will make a LOT of money, that's guranteed. It might be the spark that leads to a new technology frenzy, encouraging more companies to be started, more venture capital to flow, and lifting the spirits of still-wary investors.

I'm pretty skeptical, because I saw what happened to Yahoo and it makes me wonder: how long will it be before Google starts showering us with pop-ups?