Software Alternatives & Startups

What would google do? VS Vim

Compare What would google do? VS Vim and see what are their differences

What would google do?

A guide to the business logic of the network era.

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0 reviews
Vim

Highly configurable text editor built to enable efficient text editing

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
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Which is more popular?

Based on our record, Vim seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 10 times since March 2021.

social mentions
0 vs 10
Android popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
3 vs 240+

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

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What would google do?
Vim
Website amzn.to vim.org
Pricing —
Open source
Listed in

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

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What would google do? 5 features
Vim 6 features
  • Insightful analysis of digital transformation
    Jeff Jarvis provides a thought-provoking exploration of how Google's business principles can be applied to a wide range of industries, offering readers a fresh perspective on how the internet is reshaping commerce, media, and society.
  • Practical business lessons
    The book distills key strategies from Google's success—such as openness, transparency, and leveraging platforms—into actionable advice that entrepreneurs and business leaders can apply to their own organizations.
  • Engaging and accessible writing style
    Jarvis writes in a conversational and easy-to-understand manner, making complex concepts about technology, innovation, and business strategy accessible to a broad audience, including those without a tech background.
  • Forward-thinking vision
    The book challenges traditional business models and encourages readers to think differently about customer relationships, collaboration, and the power of networks, making it a valuable resource for anyone looking to innovate.
  • Wide range of industry applications
    Rather than focusing solely on tech companies, Jarvis applies Google's principles to industries like healthcare, education, government, and media, demonstrating the broad applicability of these ideas across sectors.

Possible disadvantages

  • Overly Google-centric perspective
    The book can feel like an extended praise piece for Google, sometimes glossing over the company's flaws, controversies, and the potential downsides of its dominance, which may come across as biased or one-sided.
  • Some ideas have become dated
    Published in 2009, several of the book's predictions and examples have not aged well. The rapidly evolving tech landscape means some recommendations feel outdated or have been proven wrong by subsequent developments.
  • Lacks depth in certain areas
    While the book covers many industries and topics, it sometimes sacrifices depth for breadth. Some sections feel superficial and could benefit from more rigorous analysis or case studies to support the arguments.
  • Overly optimistic about internet disruption
    Jarvis tends to adopt an uncritically optimistic view of how the internet transforms industries, underestimating the challenges, risks, and negative consequences of digital disruption such as privacy concerns and job displacement.
  • Repetitive core message
    The central thesis—that businesses should emulate Google's openness and platform thinking—is repeated throughout the book in various forms, which can make some chapters feel redundant and the reading experience somewhat monotonous.
  • Efficiency
    Once learned, Vim can significantly speed up text editing with its modal editing, keyboard shortcuts, and commands that allow for quick navigation and manipulation of text.
  • Lightweight
    Vim is a very lightweight editor, consuming minimal system resources, making it highly performant even on systems with lower specifications.
  • Customizability
    Vim is highly configurable and extensible through plugins and user-defined settings, allowing users to tailor the editor to their specific needs.
  • Ubiquity
    Vim is available on almost every Unix-like system and even on Windows, making it a ubiquitous tool that you can rely on being available in most environments.
  • Support for Multiple Programming Languages
    Vim supports a wide range of programming languages out of the box and offers syntax highlighting, which can be enhanced through plugins.
  • Powerful Search and Replace
    Vim offers robust searching and replacing functionalities, including support for regular expressions, which can be a powerful tool for developers.

Possible disadvantages

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Vim's modal editing and extensive set of commands can be daunting for new users, requiring significant time and effort to master.
  • Minimal Default Config
    The default configuration of Vim is quite minimalistic, which may necessitate additional setup and customization to meet modern development needs.
  • Limited GUI
    Vim primarily operates in a terminal, and while there are graphical variants like GVim, they are not as feature-rich or user-friendly as modern GUI editors.
  • Plugin Management
    While Vim is highly extensible, managing and configuring plugins can be cumbersome compared to more modern editors that offer integrated plugin management.
  • Inconsistent Behavior Across Platforms
    There may be inconsistencies in behavior or available features of Vim across different operating systems, which can complicate its use in certain environments.
  • Lack of Integrated Modern Features
    Vim lacks some modern IDE features like integrated debugging, advanced code introspection, and refined autocompletion, which often require third-party plugins to achieve.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

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What would google do?
Vim

Overall verdict

  • 'What Would Google Do?' by Jeff Jarvis is a thought-provoking and influential business book that reframes how companies and individuals should think in the internet age, making it a worthwhile read for those seeking to understand digital-era strategy.

Why this product is good

  • Offers a fresh framework ('Googlethink') for approaching business, media, and organizational challenges in the digital era
  • Written in an accessible, engaging style by media commentator Jeff Jarvis, backed by real-world examples
  • Encourages readers to rethink traditional models around transparency, openness, and customer empowerment
  • Provides actionable insights applicable across industries, from retail to healthcare to government
  • Sparks strategic thinking about how the internet reshapes value creation and competition

Recommended for

  • Entrepreneurs and startup founders looking to build internet-era business models
  • Business leaders and managers navigating digital transformation
  • Marketers and media professionals adapting to new consumer behaviors
  • Students of business, technology, and innovation
  • Anyone curious about how Google's principles can be applied to other industries

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Vim is a good text editor, especially for users who invest the time to learn its powerful commands and features. Its steep learning curve may be challenging initially, but once mastered, it significantly enhances productivity.

Why this product is good

  • Vim is considered a powerful text editor because of its efficiency and versatility. It offers extensive features, such as syntax highlighting, a robust plugin system, and support for numerous programming languages. Vim is highly configurable, enabling users to customize its environment to fit their needs. It is particularly appreciated for its speed and the ability to perform complex text manipulations using simple commands.

Recommended for

    Vim is recommended for programmers, developers, and system administrators who require a highly efficient and customizable text editing experience. It is especially useful for those who work extensively in terminal environments or need a quick, resource-light text editor for remote systems.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

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What would google do? 0 videos + Add
Vim 3 videos + Add

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What Vim Is and Why You Should Learn It

More videos

  • - JAC Vapour VIM Review - JAC does a side by side mod...
  • - Jac Vapour VIM - Quick Look

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
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What would google do?
Vim
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
IDE
100% 100%

User comments

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

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What would google do? no reviews yet
Vim no reviews yet

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  • Boost Your Productivity with These Top Text Editors and IDEs
    convesio.com · Nov 2023

    Vim offers a variety of features like split windows, macros, and extensive customization options. It has a steep learning curve, but once you master it, you’ll be amazed at the speed and productivity it brings to your...

  • 13 Best Text Editors to Speed up Your Workflow
    kinsta.com · Sep 2023

    It’s tough to say which developers would enjoy Vim as a text editor. It’s an old system with an outdated interface. Yet, it still has the charm and powerful feature-set that the average developer needs. I would...

  • 12 Best LaTeX Editors You Should Use
    beebom.com · Dec 2021

    The entire installation process is perfectly documented on their Sourceforge page, which you must definitely pay a visit. There is another standalone Vim software, known as the gVim that brings a GUI-based interface...

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Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

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What would google do? 0 mentions
Vim 10 mentions

Tracking What would google do? since May 2026.

  • regular Vim has lua?!
    Lua is quite small, encouraging distros to include it. The ubuntu gvim has, and the gvim AppImage linked from vim.org does. The default Makefile from github is set up to not include it, but you can uncomment one line there to get it. Source: over 3 years ago
  • is there a way to make highlighted text persistent after quit when using something like [match Search /\%'.line('.').'l/] ?
    I've not used vimwiki locally (tho I'm old enough to remember the Vim wiki on vim.org :), but I think what you are wanting to do is extend vimwiki's syntax file. I presume it installs one at $VIMRUNTIM/syntax or or ~/.vim/syntax. If... Source: almost 4 years ago
  • vim.org - Is there a reason for this 1800s-esque design?
    Vim.org has 242k total visitors, tailwindcss.com has 4.4m, planetscale.com has 412k, jpl.nasa.gov has 2.6m, all built with Tailwind, all several years younger than Vim's website. Unnecessary comparison, unnecessary defence. It's a... Source: almost 4 years ago

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