Here is an explanation from from Google Europe's John Herlihy on their approach to future business:

 

"The other thing we do is celebrate failure. Here's an analogy - the Roman legions used to send out scouts in different directions. If a scout didn't return, the army didn't head in that direction. We seek feedback at every opportunity on something - we either kill it, adjust it or redeploy resources. When we build something we strive for ubiquity in usage and adoption. That helps us understand how customers react and then we build a revenue model."

Source: techdigest.tv