Google and the Ikea Tactic
October 6, 2009
TechRadar ran a story that jerked my head the way a choke collar does a charging miniature poodle. The headline? “Why Google Isn’t Evil”. The premise of the story is that Google uses its fancy mathematical recipes to support the work of the Google foundation. TechRadar asserted:
Call it goodwill or a fluffy PR tactic: either way, Google.org is sizing up its technologies for the world’s pressing issues – by getting information quickly to disaster relief teams, finding new ways to save energy, and helping impoverished communities. The organization is also funding other charitable groups with $100million, and has pledged one per cent of Google’s profits for philanthropic purposes.
No doubt there is benefit in this Google effort. The addled goose thought about Ikea’s method of emphasizing benefits of environmentally friendly products. Ikea also is a voracious consumer of wood and relies on low wage factories in far flung corners of the world. My view is that Google is using an Ikea tactic to round the edges of some sharp business practices.
Stephen Arnold, October 6, 2009, No dough
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