Google: The biggest company of all time based on giving it away for free

Last year, Google made 17 billion dollars in revenue, more than any broadcaster has ever made from a combination of free and paid models. The big broadcasters, ABC, CBS and NBC make between 14 and 15 billion dollars. The largest radio network, Clear Channel, makes only seven billion dollars in revenue. Meanwhile, Google's closest competitor, Yahoo, also makes seven billion dollars.

So congratulations, Google. You are indeed the biggest free-based company of all time. And it's also a nice compliment to me that I've spent so much time recently at the Googleplex.