The most important part of Google's open letter

Today, Google published a previously internal email. It talks about the important of openness within the company. I thought it was extremely well-written, and brought up a lot of great and thought-provoking points. However, one part in particular really stuck out to me:

So if you are trying to grow an entire industry as broadly as possible, open systems trump closed. And that is exactly what we are trying to do with the Internet. Our commitment to open systems is not altruistic. Rather it's good business, since an open Internet creates a steady stream of innovations that attracts users and usage and grows the entire industry.

Generally, when a company professes its love for openness or charity or something similar, it does so with an airy "because we're so nice" attitude, and must be read with a grain of salt. This paragraph (and the explanations that followed) were extremely refreshing. There are very few philanthropic claims in this letter; it explains exactly why Google sees value in openness, and how it helps their business.

I really enjoyed reading this piece, but it was this aspect that allowed it to be enjoyable. Without it, it's just another fluff piece. With it, it becomes a powerful explanation of Google's actions and intents.