Open Thread: Would You Bet a Business on Google Gadgets?

I’m scratching my head over Google’s latest money-burning effort in which they plan to lure more gadget developers with the promise of cash. The first part of it sounds okay; they’re going to reward successful developers and lure new hopefuls with grants of $5,000 a piece for further development:

The program will provide two kinds of funding. First, we’ll invite promising gadget developers (individuals or businesses) to apply for $5,000 grants to fund further development. These are not loans or equity investments; they’re simply grants for gadgets that already have a thriving user base and we think have potential for even more improvement. To be considered for a grant, your gadget needs to have more than 250,000 pageviews per week, and you need to provide a one-page proposal on how you’d like to improve your gadget. This is a no-strings-attached grant; we won’t ask for repayment of any kind. We simply ask that you work on your project in good faith.

I guess if you’re sitting on billions of cash, why not buy developers for your platform? That part makes sense. But they’re also offering bigger bucks to those who bet their business on gadgets — or who fortuitously develop a business with a “large Google Gadget component.”

Here’s where it looks like wishful thinking (or, perhaps, thinking born of having way more than enough money in the bank):

Secondly, the program will make $100,000 seed investments in companies that either start as a Google Gadget or have a large Google Gadget component. In order to be eligible for a seed investment, you must have received a $5,000 grant, and you must propose a plan for making your gadget financially sustainable.

The Google personalized home page seems like a great place to find more reach for your web service, but mainly as a feature, not something to build your business around. Of course it’s great for people who built a little Google gadget and watch it take off — they can take that to the bank.

If I were going to start a business, though, I wouldn’t center it around one particular platform, especially not one so limited as an Ajax start page. I’d build a standalone web service and then try to push it through as many channels as possible: as a Facebook application, on the various Ajax start pages including NetVibes, Pageflakes, and Google personalized home page, and as a widget capable of being added to anyone’s website.

What about you? Would you bet your business on Google Gadgets?

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