Google’s Self-Eating Program

    A group of developers participating in the Adsense contextual advertising program launched the Google Will Eat Itself (GWEI) project several years ago , which is a self-feeding model for Google. The bottom line is this: Adsense contextual advertising is spinning on a network of websites, and Google’s shares are automatically bought with the money earned.

    Surprisingly, the model works. At least it worked in the first years after the start of the experiment. If you believe the statistics , then at some point in the ownership of GWEI passed 819 shares of Google, which at the current rate is almost a million dollars (about $ 960 thousand).

    True, the GWEI website has not been updated for several years, so it is not entirely clear whether the purchase of shares is continuing. Apparently, the published statistics refer to 2008, or even earlier. According to the creators, if "self-eating" continues at the same pace, then the process will be completed in 202 345 117 years. Theoretically, it could be noticeably accelerated if you connect many webmasters. However, you need to understand that not all Google stocks are available on the free market, but only Class A stocks. Preferred securities (Class B) remain in the ownership of company executives and allow you to get a majority when voting: 10 votes per Class B share and only 1 vote per share Class A.

    Legally, shares purchased are transferred to GTTP Ltd. (Google To The People Public Company), anyone who could become a shareholder , now this feature is disabled "for technical reasons."

    Even if the GWEI experiment is terminated, the idea of ​​trying to automatically transfer an arbitrary company into “public ownership” is quite curious. Perhaps this project is worth reviving?

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