Friday, September 4, 2009
The Google Vaccum
I came across another interesting cartoon while searching the web today. This shows how some people believe that Google controls everything, from the Publishing business, to books, and to newspapers. I think it is true that Google does seem to have a stranglehold on most types of media, where they take countless websites and online PDF's (which are basically online books) and almost 'repackage' them. But, one must ask, is this all bad? Google is, in fact convenient, easy to use, has an effective way to get good search results, and most importantly- fast. They have acquired many sites and tools to use for such purposes as enhancing their search engine, improving video compression and improving Google Maps. Not only that, but according to a Fox News article, Google is looking to acquire Twitter, and on top of that, Google owns the site I am blogging on right now! The question is, where will it end? And is having a monopolized search engine business all bad?
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Why does it have to end? Google is very efficent at doing its job so why should we stop it? Its free, fast, and convinient; what could be better? In my opinion google has not yet crossed the line, but it is fast approching. When google starts charging for services, or allows the user to search profiles of people created by others (not the person themself like facebook or myspace), that is when we should start to worry.
ReplyDeleteSo far, Google has been responsible with their services and I don't think that will change. Google can only make a profit because of the tremendous web traffic to their sites. Their success is entirely based on people choosing them over Bing, Mapquest, and others. For that reason, Google does not have the power to charge users or do unscrupulous things because they have competition. The danger from Google is that they have the opportunity to filter information that people see. This risk slight, I believe, because there are so many web geeks who are always analyzing Google's products that it would be noticed. I agree with Bob that we do not need to worry about Google for now.
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