I strongly dislike: 'What stops Google from replicating your idea — at full scale and with a huge installed base — over a long weekend?'
Historical evidence shows large companies do very poorly in emerging markets and new technologies. Google employees also don't randomly work on a weekend for an idea.
I have been in more than one meeting for an obscure technology that there is no way Google or Microsoft were listed as huge concerns for the project. No, the huge concerns for the project are bringing it to market well and primarily creating a new market. If Google or Microsoft develop a competing product you have already succeeded.
Historical evidence shows large companies do very poorly in emerging markets and new technologies. Google employees also don't randomly work on a weekend for an idea.
I have been in more than one meeting for an obscure technology that there is no way Google or Microsoft were listed as huge concerns for the project. No, the huge concerns for the project are bringing it to market well and primarily creating a new market. If Google or Microsoft develop a competing product you have already succeeded.