CBS may have been manipulating the news (okay, scratch the “may have been” and make that “was”), but they are an Old Media company par excellence with the declining numbers and tedious programming to match. I can’t remember the last time I watched, but I’m a New Media kind of guy. So this news about a service I use about every ten minutes -Google – is disturbing. Our newly-minted billionaire friends in Mountain View seem to have been cooperating with some rather “traditional” customs of some wildly rich pretend socialists (no I’m not talking about Susan Sarandon):
Google Inc. recently launched news service in China doesn’t display results from Web sites blocked by that country’s authorities, raising prickly questions for an online search engine that has famously promised to “do no evil.”
Dynamic Internet Technology Inc., a research firm striving to defeat online censorship, conducted tests that found Google omits results from the government-banned sites if search requests are made through computers connecting to the Internet in China.
Some people will do anything for a buck. [What about you?-ed. Jury's out.]
Roger:
What’s the issue? China is a progressive government looking out for the best interests of its people. If they in their wisdom feel that certain sites are harmful then it is the duty of any progressive to help the Chinese government these efforts.
OK, I’m being sarcastic but I suspect this is how the google management rationalizes the censorship.
It’s truly frightening how dependent we’ve become on Google. I know they’ve promised to be nice, etc., and I’m sure we can trust them implicitly, but what if they’re bought out? What if, say, a convicted illegal monopolist company were to seize control?
Any monopoly has the potential for abuse and will eventually corrupt its owners no matter how good-hearted they might be. Here’s to competition.
How about going back to old New Company? Amazonís A9 search is half decent, and Jeff Bezoz knows how hard he has to run to simply stay in place, market-wise.
If Google get beyond themselves, they may end up like Netscape: sitting on the top of the hill doing essentially nothing but crowing ìI am the Best, nobody will bet Me!î, while enterprising big (or small) competitor works hard to take them to the cleaners.
Of course, should that happen there is always remedy of going to court and squealing to Justice Department ìcompetition is unfair! Make them stop! Donít you know the consumers will be hurt?î
PS. It took me 7 tries to get through TypeKey. Definitely, we need lots and lots of completion in all areas.
I mean competitionÖ
Funny thing is, google news is being accused of a conservative bias. Those darn engineers and their conservative algorithms.
Link…
Katherine:
I knew what you meant. And I agree. That might be one reason there hasn’t been as many comments lately.
I believe TypeKey has been working on it. Keep trying.