I think the fundamental problem with this type of approach is that the ugly, sausage making, competition ends up getting aired too much with the public which creates market confusion and drives potential customers to places with a better, simpler story.

My understand is that great product companies, like Apple, also have a kind of Darwinian development practice, but only ever reveal the "winner" once it's clear that it's the winner.

As an outsider, Apple looks like it has strategy and vision, while Google looks completely baffling, even releasing and pulling products from the market within weeks or releasing clearly incomplete, barely beta level products with no real vision and just expecting the public to sort it out.

I mean, how many chat apps is google up to now?