Five years ago, I wrote a story called “25 Things I Hate About Google.” It went viral, to my surprise. I thought it was worth revisiting that story on its five year anniversary, to see how many of those “hates” have been fixed. So let’s dive in!
Many people might not believe that Microsoft, the company that a decade ago was often known as “the evil empire,” is now one of the most “ethical” internet companies, beating out Google, Apple, Yahoo, Facebook and other well-known online brands. That’s according to the New York-based Ethisphere Institute (EI), which produces an annual list of […]
Bing has just apologized on Twitter for a tweet earlier today that many viewed as a way to gain exposure in the name of raising money for victim’s of Friday’s earthquake in Japan. The apology reads as follows: We apologize the tweet was negatively perceived. Intent was to provide an easy way for people to […]
Google announced last night that the company has invested “in the development of a backbone transmission project off the Mid-Atlantic coast” that will help support future harvesting of power from offshore wind turbines up and down 350 miles of the US East Coast. The windmills have yet to be built, but this is key infrastructure […]
There’s a funny and satirical 1989 British film called “How to Get Ahead in Advertising.” The movie focuses on an ad executive, played by actor Richard E. Grant, who experiences an ethical and mid-life crisis. He develops a boil on his neck, which grows into a literal head (a kind of evil twin) and eventually […]
Google has released a report that shows its economic contributions to local economies in the US. Timed to coincide with National Small Business Week this is something of a “charm offensive” and effort to burnish Google’s recently tarnished corporate image: Google’s not just a search engine. We’ve also helped hundreds of businesses in every U.S. […]
This afternoon, I mentioned at the Search Engine Roundtable that Google Hong Kong was showing a white Google logo. The logo showed up a week or so ago on Google Poland as well. A Google spokesperson told me the logo is only displayed when Google wants to recognize a “current loss or tragedy.” Today the […]
The reactions to Google’s partial withdrawal from China continue. Yesterday, there were hearings in the US Congress where representatives showered praise on Google while competitor Microsoft was said to be supporting tyranny. Meanwhile, there is a nice round-ups of reactions from China folks on the web, including a great cartoon of something you never see […]
Apparently, Google’s Sergey Brin now believes that the US government should make fighting Chinese censorship a high priority, is disappointed with Microsoft for continuing to censor and is surprised that some question Google’s sudden U-turn in China. I’d say Google needs to get a little time under its belt being outside of China and setting […]
Ever since Google’s bold statement early this year that it would be withdrawing from the Chinese search market if it couldn’t find a way to operate without censorship, Mountain View has found itself in a bit of a no-win situation. Google CEO Eric Schmidt has expressed several times that the company would like to remain […]
At the TED conference in Southern California, host Chris Anderson held an impromptu Q&A with Google cofounder Sergey Brin on Google’s decision to leave China. Anderson started out asking Brin to recount what happened. A presentation about the GhostNet spying network had just concluded, and Brin said Google found they’d been targeted in a similar […]
As real-time searches for information on the Haiti earthquake disaster have bombarded Twitter, Facebook, as well as mainstream media websites and the search engines themselves, each of the major search engines have responded by linking information about disaster relief efforts from their homepages. Google has created the Google Crisis Response page, on which they pledged: […]
Google’s decision to potentially pull out of China if it cannot operate without censorship is a remarkable story. The statement was made after Google discovered a “highly sophisticated and targeted attack” on GMail. Google didn’t say the Chinese government was behind the attacks but that’s the clear implication. The attacks involved more than just Google […]
Peace on earth, good will toward holiday travelers. That seems to be Yahoo’s modus operandi today: The company is paying the baggage fees for all outbound travelers at San Francisco and San Jose international airports. It’s part of the Yahoo for Good campaign, and as local news reports suggest, it’ll probably help build some goodwill […]
Who expected the search wars to open a new front involving WiFi? Google, Bing & Yahoo have each just announced free WiFi promotions of various sorts. Google, which previously said it would provide free WiFi on all Virgin America flights through early next year, is now going to provide it at 47 US airports through […]
In the wake of the 20th anniversary of the Chinese Government’s crackdown on democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square, the issue of Google’s (self) censorship of search results in China has come around again. CNET has a lengthy and critical article on the subject: Google was going to help democratize data in China. Instead, about three […]
Google CEO Eric Schmidt spoke at length to the Wall Street Journal about why Google is collaborating on a “smart grid,” plug-in cars and making other green-energy investments that seem to be far removed from its core mission. The interview is a glimpse into what I’d call the “pragmatic idealism” that has propelled Google in […]
Comparing it to blaming car makers for deadly car bombs, Google Earth chief John Hanke recently said Google shouldn’t be blamed for terrorist use of Google Earth. Hanke defended his online mapping tools in a recent interview with the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. “You have cars; you have car bombs,” Hanke said. “You have GPS […]
Earlier today Danny blogged the Google Ocean launch event live. It was the “most produced” and Apple-like of the numerous high profile Google announcements I’ve attended — featuring former Vice President Al Gore, singer Jimmy Buffett and several scientific and oceanographic luminaries such as Dr. Sylvia Earle. The crowd was star struck by Gore and […]
We’ve covered earlier about Googlers and former Googlers making big donations to Barack Obama’s inauguration. Now Google’s taking it up a notch, throwing its first ever party in for a US president’s inauguration, in conjunction with its YouTube video site and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. It’s not a ball. In fact, the invitation […]
Google execs among big donors to inauguration from The San Francisco Chronicle reports that several of Google’s top executives have donated significant amounts towards Obama’s inauguration galas, dinners and receptions. The max allowed contribution is $50,000. A total of six Google executives gave $150,000 in total to the special day. CEO Eric Schmidt, co-founder Larry […]
The Wall Street Journal reports that Google, Yahoo and Microsoft have agreed on a common set of principles governing how they intend to do business in countries that restrict free speech and human rights. All three companies have been criticized by rights groups and the US Congress in the past for putting profit over principles […]
Google is mounting a multi-facted campaign to get people to register to vote and actually show up at the polls. There’s a voter information/registration map and a mobile version. There’s also a widget/gadget you can embed in your blog or site. It provides registration information, tied to home address.
Google has best reputation in U.S., airlines fall: survey from Reuters reports on a recent Harris Interactive study that showed (PDF) Google is the number one company ranked for corporate responsibility in America. Google took over the number one spot from Microsoft, who is now ranked number ten. Here is the top 10:
Don’t Be Evil or Don’t Lose Value? from The Sydney Morning Herald interviews Google’s vice president, Marissa Mayer, on Google’s famous company motto, “Don’t Be Evil.” In that interview, she explains that the motto “wasn’t like an elected, ordained motto.” She added, “It [the motto] is good PR but really it’s empty because it’s questionable […]
Last Friday, shortly after the Microsoft bid for Yahoo was made public, Danny and I had an opportunity to discuss the proposed acquisition with Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of strategic partnerships for Microsoft. Our questions to Mehdi often returned to post-acquisition “integration” issues. I brought up local, maps, and mobile as areas where both […]
Today, Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 9:00am PST (12:00pm EST), Google.org will be holding a conference call to discuss the launch of five strategic initiatives for the organization. The conference call participants include Sheryl Sandberg, Vice President, Global Online Sales and Operations, Google Inc. and Board Member, Google.org, and Larry Brilliant, Executive Director, Google.org. Google […]
Garett Rogers reminded me of Google’s Solar Panel Project, where Google installed about 9,000 solar panels at their headquarters to help power the offices. Google offers a status report of how much energy was generated from those panels. The latest reading says, “In the last 24 hours, Google produced 644 kilowatt-hours of electricity from the […]
Yahoo Settles With Chinese Dissidents from the Wall Street Journal reports Yahoo has settled the lawsuit brought to them over the two Chinese dissidents who were jailed illegally due to Yahoo handing over evidence to the Chinese government. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but we do know Yahoo has agreed to pay […]
Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft are all doing business in China. There’s been bad PR and even congressional hearings for Yahoo about its cooperation with the Chinese government in the country’s effort to censor the Internet and crack down on dissent. Turkey and Thailand have blocked YouTube, and so on. Now this article from Forbes describes […]
Yahoo execs called to testify about ‘false information’ from MarketWatch reports that Yahoo’s Jerry Yang and general counsel Michael Callahan were told by the House Foreign Affairs Committee to testify on November 6th about Yahoo’s involvement in giving information in the jailed Chinese dissidents case. The statement released by Chairman Tom Lantos said they want […]
Google announced they have teamed up with IBM to “provide hardware, software, and services to augment university curricula and expand research horizons.” Google and I.B.M. Join in ‘Cloud Computing’ Research from the New York Times explains the two companies are building out a ‘cloud computing’ environment to help students obtain the technical training required to […]
Yahoo to Court: Dismiss Torture Case from the New York Times blog reports that Yahoo is requesting that the court dismiss the lawsuit brought by jailed Chinese reporter. Chinese reporter Shi Tao was jailed and allegedly tortured by the Chinese government after Yahoo provided evidence against the reporter to the Chinese government. He then sued […]
Jailed Chinese reporter sues Yahoo over his imprisonment from the International Herald Tribune reports Shi Tao, the Chinese reporter who was sentenced to jail allegedly because Yahoo Hong Kong and Yahoo China sent an email to the Chinese government that led to his arrest, has joined a US lawsuit against Yahoo. Yahoo admitted to handing […]
Back at the beginning of this year, my 14 "Is Google Evil?" Tipping Points Since 2001 covered the history of how Google has been deemed to be too Big Brotherish or too dominant over the years. Another wave of Google hatred and fear is washing across the great sea of Blog. Here’s a look at […]
Yahoo launched a big “green” initiative today, including a contest and two related websites — green.yahoo.com and better.yahoo.com/planet — helping to build consumer-user awareness about global warming and energy conservation, etc. It’s a laudable effort but one that takes on a different cast when viewed in the competitive world of search. In that context, TechCrunch […]
Google interviews McCain about presidential run from Reuters reports that Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt interviewed Senator John McCain in front of “several hundred employees.” In this interview, McCain admit that he was not the best student, saying “my GPA earned me 5th from the bottom of my class.” McCain also says he isn’t the brightest, […]
Chinese couple sues Yahoo for man’s imprisonment from Reuters reports that Wang Xiaoning and his wife Yu Ling have sued Yahoo in the U.S. District Court for Northern California for allegedly helping the Chinese government prosecute Wang Xiaoning. The filing said that Xiaoning was in custody, he was “subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman or […]
News.com reports that Google, Microsoft and Yahoo have asked the US government for help when it comes to international censorship policies and law. The article has some more insight into the challenges the search companies face with countries like China. Right now, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo have to make “moral judgments” about international authorities’ requests […]
China censorship damaged us, Google founders admit at The Guardian has a quote from one of Google’s founders, Sergey Brin, when asked about Google censoring content in China, “On a business level, that decision to censor… was a net negative.”