How Google Became An Evil Scientist?!
There is a war going on between Google and Twitter right now. The timeline goes like this: Google launched Social Search, integrating Google+ Pages into your search results. This means that you’ll search as you would regularly, but some results will show up from your Google+ social graph.
Twitter objected to that, claiming that these changes were “bad for people“. People get breaking news on Twitter, they said, and that finding the right information would me much more difficult. The fight began.
Google Is Just Like Anyone Else
However, Twitter probably lost its right to complain. Yes, Twitter is mad because the most popular search engine in the world gives some priority to its own social network, kicking off Twitter as a result. But let’s look at this from another angle.
Google doesn’t owe us anything. Nor does it to Twitter and actually has every right to kick someone from the results page if they wish to. Transparency? It’s not Google’s problem. If this Google+ integration with search drives Google to a complete breakdown, it will be their own fault and the Internet will keep operating somehow. But it’s not you that Google must give answers to. The same goes if they succeed and Google+ gets them to a whole new level – it’s not you who will get the money from it.
However, like uncle Ben once said, with great power comes great responsibility; Google has the power, but does it have any responsibility towards its users and the Internet in general? Is Google alone responsible enough to handle that much power?
Do No Evil. OK, A Little Bit
Google has its “do no evil” company philosophy, but with the rise of social networking and it pummeling the power of search engines itself, it’s hard to keep calm and really “do no evil”. Of course they’ll want to get their services more upfront and that will affect some other social networks. Google is actually in a position of a mad scientist right now; it has the tools and the power to control the World, but should they use them?
If there’s anything we’ve learned from sci-fi movies, comic books and cartoons, it’s that mad, evil scientists wanting to conquer the World always fail. Look at Dr. Horrible for example, from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog; he wanted to stop the world with his freeze-ray – to get enough time to get some courage to talk to Penny, a girl he likes. This ends tragically and Dr. Horrible fails.
Does Google want to take over the World? Or at least the Internet? Probably not, but it seems that they’ve got some ideas on how to use their tools, status and their power to stay the No. 1. And if you ask me, that’s perfectly fine.
A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do,
Don’t plan the plan if you can’t follow through,
All that matters is taking matters into your own hands,
Soon I’ll control everything, my wish is your command.
This is a verse from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along blog which perfectly describes Google’s situation now. Everybody is being too critical, nobody liked Buzz or Wave and they still don’t like Google+. There’s nothing else to do, but to fight and stand your ground. Do what you need to do. Heck, even Peter Bishop from Fringe opened up a doorway into another universe to get his alternate son once his own died. Why Google wouldn’t be allowed to implement its own social network into its own, free search engine?
