And when it did, the Wall Street establishment, which had been basically asked to dig its own grave as a condition of participation, bit back with glee. The end result is that auctions, long a campaign of real financial rebels such as Bill Hambrecht, now look messy, dangerous and inefficient, which is a shame..

Esther Dyson
Editor at large, Cnet Networks

Of course those analysts want to paint the whole IPO as a dismal failure because it more or less bypassed Wall Street and its gatekeepers.

(But) the market worked. My read of it is that the initial hoopla was driven mostly by the press. Perhaps foolishly, the company responded by pricing the deal at a premium to what rational analysts said it was worth.

That made sense for a while. Indeed, some people suggested the stock was still underpriced. Then the backlash began, as potential investors talked down the price and the (technology) stock market overall started retreating.

Google made and revealed a number of blunders, including an atypical bout of excessive openness — an interview with Playboy. I'd rather criticize Google for excessive secrecy. But in the end, the company is open about what it says, if a bit smug, and open about what it will not tell..

Bill Burnham
Managing partner, Softbank Capital Partners

No matter how hot an IPO is perceived to be, the company still has to listen to Wall Street. Companies have to remember that investment managers have more than 10,000 potential stocks to choose from. That means a company has go the extra mile to convince these money managers that its stock is going to make them money

Google is a U.S. company, and it helps cement the pre-eminent position of the U.S. in the global Internet industry. The tens of thousands of domestic, skilled jobs that Internet companies such as Google have created not only help offset some of the job losses from some forms of outsourcing, but also help the U.S. industrial base migrate from old, slow-growth industries toward new, high-growth industries. Google, with its freewheeling, inventive culture and strong technology, is a great example of how U.S. industry can grow and prosper even in the face of increasing competition from overseas..