Is Google Gaming Its System?
July 2, 2012
In the beginning, Google said, “Don’t be evil”, and so it was written in their 10-point corporate philosophy. In 2004 the founding Googlers had a vision of a virtual world safe from evil, greed, algorithm and search manipulation. They vowed to share good deeds with the world, even at the cost of their gain.
Seriously, that was eight years ago…. Times change, ad revenue increases and Google apparently chose a somewhat less ethical path than planned. According to Google defends against claims of rigged search results the big G has forsaken its initial philosophy.
Nextag slammed Google and its practices stating:
“Google makes changes to its algorithms that effectively punish its competitors,” including my company.”
“Our data, which we shared with the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 21, 2011, shows without a doubt that Google has stacked the deck. And as a result, it has shifted from a true search site into a commerce site — a commerce site whose search algorithm favors products and services from Google and those from companies able to spend the most on advertising.”
In the end, this might just all go away. Rigged searches… perish the thought. We shouldn’t lose all faith in Google yet. There is a miniscule chance all the evidence against them has been fabricated to tarnish their reputation. There’s an old saying, “All gods forgive, with a proper tithe”. Ironically, Google may be counting on that or weighting the slot machine reels.
Jennifer Shockley, July 02, 2012
Comments
One Response to “Is Google Gaming Its System?”
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What Nextag seem to have missed is that if I search for, say, a type of camera, I’m looking for information about the camera; I’m not searching for a dozen or more shopping sites I’ve never heard of and will never use offering cameras that they may or may not have for sale.
When Google tweak their algorithm to tune out clutter like Nextag, they’re doing what their customers demand.