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==Abandonment==
==Abandonment==
In late May, 2012, Google announced that they will be ending the principle of separation of search and advertising by replacing its "Shopping" search results with paid advertisements. The layout will be nearly identical to the current Google Shopping search results, which could mean that customers unaware of this announcement will not realize that the search results are no longer neutral. Instead of displaying all results from the index, Google Shopping will now only display results from companies that agree to pay an advertising fee. Furthermore, though Google claims that relevance will still be a factor in fashion, rankings will be primarily determined by which companies have placed the highest "bid." The announcement does not elaborate on this:
In late May, 2012, Google announced that they will be ending the principle of separation of search and advertising by replacing its "Shopping" search results with paid advertisements. The layout will be nearly identical to the current Google Shopping search results, which could mean that customers unaware of this announcement will not realize that the search results are no longer neutral. Instead of displaying all results from the index, Google Shopping will now only display results from companies that agree to pay an advertising fee. Furthermore, though Google claims that relevance will still be a factor in some fashion, rankings will be primarily determined by which companies have placed the highest "bid." The announcement does not elaborate on this:


{{quotation|Ranking in Google Shopping, when the full transition is complete this fall, will be based on a combination of relevance and bid price--just like Product Listing Ads today.}}
{{quotation|Ranking in Google Shopping, when the full transition is complete this fall, will be based on a combination of relevance and bid price--just like Product Listing Ads today.}}

Revision as of 18:46, 9 August 2012

"Don't be evil" is the informal corporate motto (or slogan) of Google,[1] originally suggested by Google employees Paul Buchheit[2] and Amit Patel[3] at a meeting. Buchheit, the creator of Gmail, said he "wanted something that, once you put it in there, would be hard to take out", adding that the slogan was "also a bit of a jab at a lot of the other companies, especially our competitors, who at the time, in our opinion, were kind of exploiting the users to some extent." While the official corporate philosophy of Google[4] does not contain the words "Don't be evil", they were included in the prospectus (aka "S-1") of Google's 2004 IPO (a letter from Google's founders, later called the "'Don't Be Evil' manifesto"): "Don’t be evil. We believe strongly that in the long term, we will be better served — as shareholders and in all other ways — by a company that does good things for the world even if we forgo some short term gains."[5] The sixth point of the 10-point corporate philosophy of Google says "You can make money without doing evil."[4] The motto is sometimes incorrectly stated as Do no evil.[6][7]

"Don't be evil" is said to recognize that large corporations often maximize short-term profits with actions that may not be in the best interests of the public. Supposedly, by instilling a don't-be-evil culture, the corporation establishes a baseline for honest decision-making that disassociates Google from any and all cheating. This in turn can enhance the trust and image of the corporation, which may outweigh short-term gains from violating the Don't Be Evil principles(needs reference).

While many companies have ethical codes to govern their conduct, Google claims to have made "Don't Be Evil" a central pillar of their identity, and part of their self-proclaimed core values.[8]

Criticism of Google often includes a reference to "Don't be evil".[9]

Avoiding conflicts of interest

In their 2004 founders' letter[10] prior to their initial public offering, Larry Page and Sergey Brin explained that their "Don't be evil" culture prohibited conflicts of interest, and required objectivity and an absence of bias:

Google users trust our systems to help them with important decisions: medical, financial and many others. Our search results are the best we know how to produce. They are unbiased and objective, and we do not accept payment for them or for inclusion or more frequent updating. We also display advertising, which we work hard to make relevant, and we label it clearly. This is similar to a well-run newspaper, where the advertisements are clear and the articles are not influenced by the advertisers’ payments. We believe it is important for everyone to have access to the best information and research, not only to the information people pay for you to see.

Chris Hoofnagle, director of University of California at Berkeley Law’s information privacy programs, has stated[11] that Google's original intention expressed by the "don't be evil" motto is linked to the company's separation of search results from advertising. However, he argues that clearly separating search results from sponsored links is required by law, thus, Google's practice is now mainstream and no longer remarkable or good. According to Hoofnagle, Google should abandon the motto because:

The evil talk is not only an albatross for Google, it obscures the substantial consumer benefits from Google’s advertising model. Because we have forgotten the original context of Google’s evil representations, the company should remind the public of the company’s contribution to a revolution in search advertising, and highlight some overlooked benefits of their model.

Abandonment

In late May, 2012, Google announced that they will be ending the principle of separation of search and advertising by replacing its "Shopping" search results with paid advertisements. The layout will be nearly identical to the current Google Shopping search results, which could mean that customers unaware of this announcement will not realize that the search results are no longer neutral. Instead of displaying all results from the index, Google Shopping will now only display results from companies that agree to pay an advertising fee. Furthermore, though Google claims that relevance will still be a factor in some fashion, rankings will be primarily determined by which companies have placed the highest "bid." The announcement does not elaborate on this:

Ranking in Google Shopping, when the full transition is complete this fall, will be based on a combination of relevance and bid price--just like Product Listing Ads today.

Google claims that this move is intended to make search results more relevant, though critics charge that Google is merely doing this to boost revenue and that these changes will in fact severely curtail the usefulness of the search results. Critics claim that Google is essentially "being evil" and that this move will seriously damage the trust they have built-up with consumers over the years.

The move is also seen as hypocritical given that, until now, Google has soundly rejected the notion of linking search results to paid advertising and repeatedly promised that they would never move toward such a model.

Reception among retailers has thus far been mixed, with many larger companies welcoming the move as an opportunity to gain more control over their product placements. However, there is considerable concern that smaller retailers will be "forced out" because they won't be able to out-bid their larger competitors for favorable rankings. It is not yet known whether this will cause any significant consumer backlash.

Google states that the transition will be complete in the fall of 2012.[12][13][14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Investor". Google. Retrieved 2011-11-25. {{cite web}}: |contribution= ignored (help)
  2. ^ "Paul Buchheit on Gmail, AdSense and More". Blogoscoped. 2007-01-25. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
  3. ^ "Don't Be Evil or don't lose value?". The Sydney Morning Herald. AU. 2008-04-15.
  4. ^ a b "Our Philosophy". Google. Retrieved 2011-11-25. {{cite web}}: |contribution= ignored (help)
  5. ^ Ovide, Shira (2011-06-23). "What Would 2004 Google Say About Antitrust Probe?". The Wall Street Journal.
  6. ^ Gleick, James, "How Google Dominates Us", The New York Review of Books http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/aug/18/how-google-dominates-us/?pagination=false {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ^ "Don't be evil. Fact-check the company motto", Valleywag, Gawker
  8. ^ "Google Hamburg Gallery". Blogoscoped. 2007-01-25. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
  9. ^
  10. ^ "Letter from the founders, "an owner's manual" for Google's shareholders". USA: SEC. 14 Aug 2004.
  11. ^ Hoofnagle, Chris (2009). "Beyond Google and evil: How policy makers, journalist and consumers should talk differently about Google and privacy". First Monday. 14 (4–6). {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  12. ^ http://googlecommerce.blogspot.com/2012/05/building-better-shopping-experience.html
  13. ^ http://www.rimmkaufman.com/blog/google-shopping-no-longer-free/31052012/
  14. ^ http://www.stateofsearch.com/paid-google-shopping-another-step-towards-googles-master-plan/
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