Forum Moderators: goodroi
Google has long insisted that it has no plans to own or create content, and that it is a friend, not a foe, of media companies. The Google search engine sends huge numbers of users to the digital doorsteps of thousands of media companies, many of which also rely on Google to place ads on their sites. “Our vision still remains to be the best conduit that we can be, connecting people between whatever their search is and the answer they are looking for,” Mr. Stricker said. “For that reason, we are not interested in owning or creating content.”
With Google Knol they are right on the border of content owners.
Surely, there is a danger when it becomes a content host/provider, as opposed to providing search for other people's content.
no plans to own or create content
Muhahahaha.
Google certainly WOULD LIKE to own the content, but in general they hate to PAY for it. Areas of content use:
- Properly licenced content (Maps, parts of Youtube)
- Unlicenced 3rd party content (Search, News, Content Network)
- End user services (Gmail)
- User generated content where the uploader "grants rights" (Youtube, Knol, Video)
Only in very few cases they actually pay money. The majority of content is FREE for them to use. They pay for the platform and operations.
But Stricker sums it up perfectly:
we are not interested in owning or creating content
That's right, they "just" want to use content. Evil.
The majority of content is FREE for them to use. They pay for the platform and operations.
And shares of advertising revenue, in some cases (such as blogs and Knol).
It's also worth noting that free hosting (e-mail, blogs, Knol, etc.) is a form of payment (barter rather than cash).
As for search being "unlicensed 3rd party content," that's a pretty
farfetched claim. Still, if having your public Web pages indexed by Google really bothers you, why not start a Google Search News Forum thread titled "Google won't stop sending me traffic"? It would be a nice change of pace from the usual complaints. :-)
