Allow me to say this is not a black or white issue, and to suggest in the headline that all of Google’s critics are wrong is unfair.
But that being said: the Google critics are wrong (haha) regarding this:
Google Inc. has axed its latest bit of self-promotion after facing a new firestorm over the degree to which it uses its Internet search results to pitch its own products.
Since mid-December, “tips” directing people to Google products began appearing alongside certain Google search results. For example, a search for the word “calendar” would yield a screen-filled with results, topped by a graphic that read, “Tip: Want to organize your schedule and share events with friends? Try Google Calendar.”
But the tips no longer show up, apparently removed sometime before the New Year. A Google representative didn’t respond to a request for comment, so the reason why the tips appeared, then disappeared, couldn’t be learned Friday.
To a large degree, Google supporters say, Google simply engaged in a practice that’s commonplace at rivals Yahoo Inc. and InterActiveCorp. Inc., operator of the Ask.com Internet search engine.
But some others outside Google believe it’s imperative the company be held to a higher standard because of the enormous popularity of its search engine, and the value from a marketing standpoint of anything that appears on its home page.
When one of every two Internet searches is conducted via Google, the company holds an enormous amount of power, and thus responsibility. For example, by merely adding a link to Google’s blog search on both its homepage, the feature rocketed up the standings to become No. 1 in the field.
The reason is simple: Google is caught between a rock and a hard place. Forget the fact that all of Google’s competitors already do this…
We don’t want Google to change its main page and add links to all of its Google products (since that would make Google a portal, I presume) and we don’t want Google to add links to its products when we conduct a related search.
Hmm.
Maybe I am missing something, but we (writers, analysts, bloggers, journalists etc) also complain when Google promotes itself in its paid ads…
What, exactly, is Google to do folks? Serve popups? That would be revolting.
I rather Google add Tips and not place itself in its paid search results, because that would make the cost of advertising on Google more expensive.
I rather Google add Tips and not place itself in its organic search results, because that would make it suspicious, even though technically PageRank would suggest that a hyperlink from Google to a Google product should practically ensure that said product is near the top, if not at the top, of the relevant search query, no?
Lastly, while I am not a fan of all Google products, we beg and scream for Google to open its products to everyone (remember people lining up for Analytics and Gmail invites fetching major dollars on eBay) but because of a few, elitist bloggers who deem themselves to be more important than the average Web surfer, Google will now backtrack and keep its products only for those who have nothing better to do than spend hours prowling on Google’s hidden pages to find what new products and features could help people save time and increase productivity.
Once again, a vocal minority gets it way while a majority suffers.
That, my friends, sucks biggatime.
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January 5th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
Goddamit, thank you. I started reading you after Om praised your blog. And now you’re one of the feeds I read as soon as it updates. We need more bloggers like you, aiming to provide critical thinking, not really caring about your great looks or sucking up to some big shot.
January 6th, 2007 at 5:27 am
These journalese words — the written equivalent of a political caricature stand out… “axed,” “self-promotion,” and “firestorm.” What a bunch of sensationalist BS. I guess the real story is not newsworthy, “Google temporarily promotes itself like its competitors and then stopped… but worst of all, they would not let me talk to Eric Schmidt to find out why.” To be fair, it actually looks like Ben Charney’s editor decided to spice up the first sentence and make it newsworthy. It does not read like the rest of his writing.
I recall reading somewhere a few months ago that Google should self-promote to increase use of its many unknown features. Guess it is one of those pleasing all of the people none of the time things.
I wrote in my blog that many people disparage Google for the wrong reasons. Many people that lost a wheelbarrow full of paper profits in the Internet bubble suffers from a vision clouded by past trauma. The newspaper and broadcast companies and their “professional journalists” are threatened by Google and stories seem to be more negative than they should be. Many advertising companies are threatened by Google’s automation of their functions. Many Internet companies hate having to pay more for keywords and find Google a threat to their continued growth. The telecoms are threatened by a company that has been buying its own infinite supply of bandwidth that could render their precious $40/ month pots service as absolutely profitless as it is absolutely worthless. (Did you know that the sum of human digital communication can now pass through a fiber cable the diameter of a tennis ball? and that over 99% of all fiber is excess capacity?) Microsoft owned sites and Yahoo affiliates don’t particularly like their leading competitor. Google alienated the investment brokerage community on IPO. It continues to alienate the brokerage and stock advising community by not giving them any special information. All these factors contribute to a climate of Google bashing. And worst of all, Google says nothing in its own defense.