Google Becomes Talk Show Fodder
December 3, 2009
Google has emerged from the computer lab to the world of talk shows. It only took 11 years. Maybe Google will become the next big thing like 50 Cent or Dancing with the Stars? I found “Huffington To Murdoch: Stop ‘Pointing Fingers’” a blend of pop culture, business analysis, and mud slinging. I thought about the good old days of newspaper wars and the original Queen for a Day. What Hollywood needs is not a Facebook movie but a Star Wars treatment of Googzilla versus the Murdoch.
The core of the story is that one of the world’s most powerful media moguls has made Google the poster child of improper use of content. Google, on the other hand, asserts that it is working in an algorithmic way and staying within the boundaries for proper behavior. Another media mogulette has suggested that the Murdoch take a deep breath, which is tantamount to defending the way of the algorithm. I am waiting for a Yoda type to chime in as well.
I particularly liked the use of the word “whine”. Drama-charged, semantic excitement will ensue.
The addled goose’s view on the great Googzilla versus the Murdoch is simple: The Google has been chugging along for almost 12 years. Now those who were asleep at the switch have found the chain of events predictable, easily understood. The outcome is to a certain extent known by those who are watching the drama unfold.
In short, these outfits have missed the train. Instead of investing in a hovercraft, a helicopter, or a Red Bull type airplane, the folks who missed the train are blaming the train.
If find the entire situation like a well honed Shakespeare tragedy. The protagonist and antagonist go through their paces. We watch with fascination and horror as the hero goes blind and rages against the wind.
As long at the Murdoch relies on traditional technology, old business models, and the assumptions of the 19th century tycoon, the comedic trajectory is going to work.
Google is one manifestation of a deeper change in the information world. Sure, it is a poster child, but there is nothing traditional media to alter the new environment. In The Google Legacy, I raised the question, “What happens if Google were to disappear tomorrow?” My answer, which two or three people have read, is that another series of Google-like entities would emerge. Google’s legacy is that it has provided a road map to others to follow.
The Murdoch is a bit like a Civil War reenactment buff. Some parts of the play acting look realistic. Other parts are irrelevant to today’s world. To sum up, take away the Google and the Murdoch faces new Googles. Lots of them. Those Googles will be more troublesome than the Google that gave rise to the next generation.
Like a good comedy skit, the outcome can be anticipated in my opinion.
Stephen Arnold, December 3, 2009
I wish to reveal to the Board of Directors of the Kennedy Center that my critical analysis of the new play “Googzilla versus the Murdoch” was undertaken without subsidy or compensation. Like any work of fiction, any connection to real events is purely accidental.
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