May 07 - Is Google doing evil? - We don't think so

Google has this week been accused of abusing their position to promote their own services via Google search results.

Google Calendar at top of search page:
Blake Ross, one of the instigators of the Firefox Browser, has pointed out that a search for the word 'calendar' shows Google's own offering - Google Calendar, at the top of the results.

Google's Picasa also top:
Try a search for 'photo sharing' and lo, Google's Picasa is right up there at the top.

So is Google loosing its integrity?

Two of Google's published tenets run thus:

• Democracy on the web works
• You can make money without doing evil

Any other company doing what Google is doing here would provoke no interest whatsoever. It is Google's stated business ethics that singles it out for attention. But let's examine what they are doing.

Google has placed its search results in the 'Sponsored Links' section of the page. Any company can pay to achieve this position, and most Google users know that this is a 'paid link'. Surely, Google would be taking its moral position too far if it allowed its competitors to place what is effectively an advertisement but could not do the same itself. You may have a different take on this, but we feel that Google continues to successfully walk the tightrope of good business sense combined with good business morals.