Google was right to go strongly for online advertising, as the data from the Interactive Advertising Bureau shows. 2007 was the first time ever when the advertising revenue exceeded $21 billion, but that is nothing out of the ordinary. It was only natural for that to happen, seeing that the annual growth was always in the 20-30-something percentages, compared to the previous years.

The big picture painted is both encouraging and discouraging at the same time. With the Internet representing le...