Rethinking ‘Google pays’

Write a blog for even a short time and you’ll learn that the shelf life of what you considered a reasoned opinion can be less than that of leftover Chinese food — as in left out on the counter overnight.

For example, consider this assessment typed here earlier today that Google’s settlement of a click-fraud case for $90 million would have company executives weeping in their lattes.

Eric Goldman’s “Technology and Marketing Law Blog” has a completely different view of the matter — and I’m starting to like his more than mine.

Goldman writes: “From my perspective, this sounds like an outstanding outcome for Google. Because this was a class action lawsuit, the settlement will bind all advertisers (except those advertisers who opt-out, which I doubt many will do). So with the settlement, Google effectively eliminates its entire legacy liability for click fraud for $90M, only a portion of which is out-of-pocket cash. Given that the click fraud has been estimated in the billions, a $90M settlement sounds like an excellent deal.”

Are there any mulligans in blogging?