It’s getting a little testy out there–Google, who used to be the darling of the whole Internet–is getting a bad-rap faster than you can spell e-v-i-l.
But the worst part–and most-dastardly of all–is that there seems to be NO RESPONSE AT ALL from Google on the matter.
- Staunch supporters of Google are publicly stating their displeasure, and wondering if Google is the new Evil Empire.
- Google adds more ads to their search results�and limits payout requirements on their own adsense affiliate program.
- Mid 2005, Google was sued again for click-fraud
- A new website, evilornot.info�has emerged (slanted, of course) allowing Internet users to vote on Google’s evil-ness.� Today, for example, google is apparently 75% evil.
- A search for “google becoming evil?” yields 2 Million English results on its own engine (who knows if they have removed any of the really damaging results)
This morning, a Dow Jones analyst claims that “Google’s Action Makes A Mockery Of Its Values” with the following explaination:
It was less than two years ago that Google Inc. (GOOG) co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin thumbed their noses at the U.S. investment banking community with an auction-based IPO and their pledge not to cave in to the short-term demands of Wall Street.
Their mantra was “do no evil,” and the company’s statement still says Google’s goal is to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
Even with one of the largest market valuations of any U.S. company, Google tries to set itself apart from its rivals - Yahoo Inc. (YHOO), Microsoft Corp.’s (MSFT) MSN and Time Warner Inc.’s (TWX) America Online - by underscoring its high-minded philosophical goal to “resist the temptation to make small sacrifices to increase shareholder value.”
It passionately claims that “Google has steadfastly refused to make any change that does not offer a benefit to the users who come to the site.”
Yet Google’s announcement Tuesday that it will comply with China’s repressive laws by doctoring its search results in that country makes a mockery of those values. [more]
With all of the flamethrowing going on, the Official Google Blog just sits there… doing… absolutely… nothing.� They post things about their current releases (yay) and how to watch NBA games on Google Video (ooooh), and how Gmail FINALLY has delete buttons! (sheesh!), but there is nothing, nope, nadda, zilch about the things that matter to the users, the bloggers, the netizens…
P.S. Google, we’re the ones that click the oh-so-valuable clicks that bring in the oh-so-valuable Billions of Dollars in revenue you made last year.� So, even though your advertisers pay the bills, they’d be nothing without the mouse-pointers that we, alone, have control of!
Is Google becoming evil?� Here’s my take: I don’t care about the extra ads (hey, I have ads all over my blog). I don’t care about the click-fraud charges.� I don’t really care about all the hype.�
What I want to know is, “WHAT IS GOOGLE’S OFFICIAL RESPONSE??”� And that is something I have yet to hear a dang thing about, other than “Google doesn’t care about you” evidenced by their blatant lack of customer-service and general decency when there’s a complaint.
It’s well known and established that the best way to ruin your company’s Public Relations is to hide and hope it all goes away, while the best way to Avoid PR Disasters is to tackle it head on.��The Harvard Management Communication Letter has this to say:
A lousy earnings report, a product recall, a lawsuit, or an industrial accident can send even the most battle-hardened executive scurrying for the Maalox, especially when the media, shareholders, vendors, and board of directors all want to know what happened�and now.
A company’s public relations department is supposed to be in charge of damage control. However, events often take on a life of their own that no amount of spin can make go away. Companies that try to figure out how to respond to a crisis after it’s occurred will find themselves playing catch-up long after everybody stops caring. With some careful planning and preparation, it doesn’t have to be that way.
Bad news is part of the cost of doing business. But plenty of companies, through their actions or inaction, make the situation worse than it needs to be. [more…]
Please, Google.� Share with us what you’re doing.� Share with us your goals and your dreams, not just your holiday party pics. Share with us your vision as you conquer the web and grow up into this new, incredible decade of the Internet. I want to buy your stock, but give me reasons to trust you!
WE�WANT YOU TO WIN, but we also want you to play fair on this playing field that, if you recall, you helped to level out for all of us.
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