Google: The new Microsoft?
By Adam Gaffin, NetworkWorld.com, 02/17/05
A few years ago, Microsoft got reamed for proposing something called "Smart Tags," in which its then new IE 6.0 would hyperlink keywords in online articles to, well, pretty much anything Microsoft decided to link them to.
Now Google is doing the same thing. Steve Rubel reports the newest version of the Google Toolbar has a new feature called Autolink that will link addresses to maps (in its beta Mapquest killer), book names to ISBN numbers, etc. And he asks:
Could you imagine the uproar if Microsoft had tried this with the new MSN Toolbar Suite?
Paul Robichaux wonders the same thing (on a page, however, that has ads whose contents are selected entirely by Google):
... Google's widely publicized mantra of "don't be evil" is increasingly often being used to excuse behavior for which Microsoft, Oracle, or IBM would be roundly condemned. This is just the latest such instance. Don't get me wrong: as a user, I think Autolink could potentially be a useful feature (but then I thought the same thing about smart tag support in IE). As a web content provider, I'm not comfortable with the idea that another entity (which may not have my best interests at heart) is modifying my content before someone else sees it. If Microsoft was wrong, so Google is wrong now.
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One prominent difference, of course, is that I get to choose whether ads appear on my page or not; I have some reasonable control over the ads' appearance, and I could filter out competitors if I wanted to. Autolink doesn't provide any of these features, except that it allows you to disable it. If I'm an Amazon affiliate, let's say, how do I stop Autolink from doing something nasty to Amazon links on my page? Sure, it might not do that now, but as any competitive strategist knows, you judge competitors by their *capabilities*, not by their *intentions*.
Posted by: Paul Robichaux on February 17, 2005 10:48 AM
It's not all that similar to Smart Tags.
1) Smart Tags were built into not just the browser, but the whole operating system. I can't think of a competitor who was even capable of doing this -- Apple, maybe. Even if Firefox or Opera baked this in, it wouldn't be as offensive.
2) So far, the links that Google Toolbar does just increase information, not advertising. If someone publishes an address, we can assume they want people to find their way to such a place, so a map link is genuinely useful. Smart Tags seemed to be about sending the user to Procter & Gamble for every instance of the word "shampoo".
I suppose it is worrying that they might have the capability to the do the P&G thing, if Google becomes more evil later.
Posted by: Neil K on February 17, 2005 05:31 PM
NeilK has a very good point. Someone, sometimem, somewhere will always be offened no matter Who makes what and whats in it. I perfer Mozilla over IE, mainly for the reason that IE is easily hijacked. Lots of unwanted bs.
Why is it that all great things come to an end? just beyond me, Why cant they stay a great thing they are Evil or not.
Posted by: ChadF on February 17, 2005 06:32 PM
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