Bnn’s stars & dogs: the google bull case wins the day.

  It’s difficult to knock Google even in this wretched economic environment.

The company is still growing by leaps and bounds in the midst of a nasty recession and it’s gaining share at the expense of competitors.

Those were the points, made by Business News Network’s Kim Parlee, that led me to choose the argument in favour of Google’s growth during my stint as a guest judge on the Canadian station’s Stars & Dogs show, which aired earlier today.

Andy Bell and Kim Parlee, the show’s hosts, jousted over Google’s future prospects with Bell taking the bear Google stance. Parlee of course argued in favour of Google.

It was a timely sparring match as Google reported first-quarter results that beat Wall St. analyst expectations on Thursday. Google CEO Eric Schmidt told analysts, on a conference call after the results were released, that the company is “absolutely feeling the impact” of the recession.

Andy Bell believes the slower economy, privacy concerns and competition spell the end to Google’s best days. The company posted its first sequential revenue decline which Bell said is a sign of Google’s long term downward trajectory. It’s a noteworthy fact given the company’s astronomical growth since, well, its inception in 1998.

Parlee, conversely, believes Google’s long-term prospects remain sound as the Internet ad market is still growing relatively fast while Google is taking share away from competitors. (Two-thirds of all consumer Web searches are conducted by Google’s search engine).

Parlee I felt proved her points with more facts and figures while Bell too often resorted to rhetoric and characterizations to prove his points.

“Google’s in a major funk,” Bell said at the top of the episode. “It’s glory days are behind it.”

Google may never reach US$715 on the Nasdaq, as it did during Dec. 2007, again but the end isn’t anywhere in sight.