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Google's Mindshare At Mobile World Congress Is Practically Zero

Aside from the low-level buzz surrounding the Android platform, no one at Mobile World Congress is talking about Google. What happened to Google changing the mobile world?

Google does not have a booth at Mobile World Congress. It does have some hospitality suites, so it is obviously conducting some business here. But on the whole, it is out of sight, out of mind. What gives?

Yahoo has a booth. AOL has a booth. Both announced new mobile offerings this week, including Yahoo's new oneConnect platform and AOL's open mobile platform. They both had demonstrations on how everything works at the event.

Google announced a new SDK for Android, which includes some pretty big changes in the way the kit works. Not that you have to have a booth in Barcelona in order to make an announcement, but the lack of any sort of presence is noticeable.

Time and again when I asked people their thoughts on Google and Android, most people were skeptical that it could be successful. Google has rocked the mobile boat much more than Yahoo or AOL over the course of the last twelve months. So why is no one talking about it?

I understand that Google likes to do things behind the scenes, but it also needs to be a part of the scene it is helping to create. That means presence. Google can't hide behind the mystery of its server farms. A public face is important. Aside from Google's executives, there is no real, palpable presence to Google. It is part of the cloud.

Clouds can be interesting, but they are also transient, temporary and eternally shifting. Google needs to firm up a bit and play a more active role in participating.

Google, no one is talking about you at the biggest mobile event of the year. That should worry you.

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