Sorry, which goalpost am I aiming for? This one seems to be moving...
Although not quoting until now (my mistake), my reply was specifically in response to your previous point:
I don't think that's a reasonable comparison [...] it doesn't give insight into competitors metrics unless those competitors choose to share that information
The lines begin to blur especially when discussing means of accessing the internet (especially most efficiently/safely) and/or core (semi-artificially-required) mobile phone operating system components!
If nothing else they offer the path of least resistance. Any best-of-breed solution (GMail, Google Docs, Chrome - all somehwat a matter of opinion) or de facto monopoly-ish position (search, free analytics, Google Play Services?) by Google offers the potential for them to gain info on competitors in much the same way Amazon can take over succesful verticals originally occupied by a third party.
I would argue most of Alexa's most import features are not free, doubleclick is still a cloak around the entire digital advertising industry that gives them access to actionable metrics of how websites are doing (i.e. maybe why they've pushed into job search recently).
One commonality among all of them is being marketed as a service for smaller-scale companies while having the double-edged sword on the backend that is most likely what they are really after
Although not quoting until now (my mistake), my reply was specifically in response to your previous point:
I don't think that's a reasonable comparison [...] it doesn't give insight into competitors metrics unless those competitors choose to share that information
The lines begin to blur especially when discussing means of accessing the internet (especially most efficiently/safely) and/or core (semi-artificially-required) mobile phone operating system components!
If nothing else they offer the path of least resistance. Any best-of-breed solution (GMail, Google Docs, Chrome - all somehwat a matter of opinion) or de facto monopoly-ish position (search, free analytics, Google Play Services?) by Google offers the potential for them to gain info on competitors in much the same way Amazon can take over succesful verticals originally occupied by a third party.