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1. That's exactly what people said about Google before they launched Google Apps, Docs, etc. "why would Google do this?" -- the answer was clear: user engagement and the blurring of personal and professional data/personas.

2. If you hit scale, the best practices is to try and build as full of a stack as possible. That's why Microsoft did a search engine, Google did an Office Suite and why Facebook will do both at some point.

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1. I feel like social and productivity are at two ends of a spectrum. Searc, at least in my mind, is closer to productivity. Still seems unlikely to me that they'd build it from scratch rather than buy someone.

2. Interesting that you think of the stack that way. So you think Facebook will encroach onto Search at some point? What exactly is in the full stack?

And an obligatory reference to Apple, is Apple a different full stack or are they a short stack without search?

Now I want pancakes

Google's worst user experience item is the combination of productivity apps. You use one, you can't escape the others. You have gmail? All your contacts (including people you emailed once) will be synced to your Android phone, not to mention the many duplicates. A terrible experience when you combine all the mediocre apps with the ones that matter.

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