On Monday, Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page wrote a blog post describing Alphabet, a new parent company that will consist of core Google projects like Search, Maps, and YouTube as well as new businesses and off-shoot projects that will be separately managed, like Google Fiber, Nest, and Calico, a biotech company established by Page in 2013. In the blog post, Page also indicated that as he and other Google co-founder Sergey Brin go on to run Alphabet, former Chrome and Android chief product manager Sundar Pichai will become Google's new CEO. Given its unexpected nature, reactions to Google's Alphabet announcement have ranged from confused to hilarious.
For a long time, Google was primarily a search engine. But it works on a lot more than that now, from drones to venture capital, and Alphabet seems to be Google's effort to revamp its organization and more accurately reflect the interests of its consumers. In his blog post, Page explained the motivation behind the name "Alphabet."
We liked the name Alphabet because it means a collection of letters that represent language, one of humanity's most important innovations, and is the core of how we index with Google search! We also like that it means alpha-bet (Alpha is investment return above benchmark), which we strive for! I should add that we are not intending for this to be a big consumer brand with related products — the whole point is that Alphabet companies should have independence and develop their own brands.
Not everyone is excited about Google's restructuring decision, though, and some people have already used the occasion to poke fun at Alphabet; here are some of the most amusing reactions that Twitter users have had to the announcement.
There was also a special treat for Silicon Valley fans in the blog post:
And, of course, Sesame Street weighed in:
Maybe these might not have been the reactions Google was expecting, but they say quite a bit about how people feel about corporate restructuring. However, although Google's announcement might not have pleased all of its consumers, it might come as a relief to investors, who may receive a clearer picture of how much Google is spending on its newer ventures. In the meantime, there are plenty of jokes to be made about how the alphabet is finally allowed to be evil.
