Google News: Not So Much News As Control and Passive Aggressive Offense
February 12, 2019
I read “One Analyst’s Attempts to Demystify the Types of Traffic Google Sends Publishers.” The write up explains some of the clever ways Google manages its traffic and any related data linked to the traffic and content objects.
To put it another way, Google is continuing its effort to control content for its own purposes, not the publishers’, not the users’ or the advertisers’ goals.
The article makes it clear that Google is adapting in a passive aggressive manner to the shift from desktop boat anchor search to the more popular mobile device approach to search.
Users want information and no longer are troubled with thinking up a query, deciding what service to use, or questioning the provenance of the information.
The write up takes a bit of time to figure out. There are acronyms, Googley lingo, and data which may be unfamiliar to most readers. Spend a few minutes and AMP up your understanding of what Google is doing to help out — wait for it — itself.
Surprise, right?
The downstream implications of this approach are interesting. Perhaps an analyst will tackle the issues related to:
- Time disconnects between event and inclusion of “news”
- Ability to “route” and “filter” from within the Google walled garden
- Implications of inserting “relevant” ads into what may be shaped streams so that ad inventory can be whittled down.
Interesting and just the tip of the Google content management iceberg.
Stephen E Arnold, February 12, 2019
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