Has Google Become Evil?

I always look forward to reading Robert Cringely’s weekly column, mostly because he writes meaty, thought-provoking ideas as opposed to the “fast-food” fare in many blogs.

His column this week suggests Google is evil AND becoming increasingly like Microsoft. A big part of Cringely’s argument is Google’s algorithm – the heart of the empire – is unfair and often tweaked to support Google’s financial growth rather than serving the interests of Google, advertisers and Web sites that use and rely on AdSense to make revenue.

Google’s manipulation of the algorithm was thrust into the spotlight recently when it re-loaded on how Page Rank is calculated. For most of us, Page Rank isn’t important but if you’re an advertiser, a lower Page Rank could mean less interest – and revenue – from advertisers. Google claimed the move was based on cracking down on blog links farms but it also impacted a lot of high-traffic Web sites such as the Washington Post.

The bigger question is how much control Google has over the Internet economy given it dominates the search and online advertising markets. Is Google working for the best interests of Google or is it trying to nurture a healthy eco-system as well? Can Google serve its own interests and the Internet, in general, so it’s win-win for everyone? Or is this scenario impossible if Google wants to boost sales and profits?

Can Google really continue to “Do No Evil”? If you ask many of the Web sites who had their Page Rank rating hammered recently, the answer would be a resounding “no”.

Hey, don’t get me wrong. Google is a multi-billion dollar, high-growth business with huge expectations from investors and analysts. All of which means that sometimes business is business even if it you have to be “unfair” – however you want to define unfair. It may be that the bigger Google becomes, the tougher it will have to be to drive growth. If it means running roughshod over rivals or even partners, so be it.

Technorati Tags: Advertising, Google