History has shown us, just because someone is brilliant, does not mean they are not subject to evil. Today we are faced with a company that possesses some of the most brilliant minds in business, technology and communications. Many of us use and love their products. Still, as outlined in a great article in the economist last week, an increasing number of parties find this company to be the one thing it vowed never to be, evil.
…and so we return to the ago old dispute, is Google repurposing other people’s content to make money?
I found The Economist story right after searching for show times for the movie “Superbad” (which I highly recommend). I am not really sure when Google began including local show times, but it was the first time I realized how many vertical search engines Google could potentially put out of business with their new Universal Search.
I took a few screenshots of the experience (pictured below). From a consumer standpoint, I have to admit, I would rather just go to Google and get the best results and any other information I need than go to Fandango or Moviefone. From a business standpoint, where do we draw the line?
My major issue is the fact that Google’s monopolization of information is not rooted in shady business practices (at least not to the best of my knowledge). It is rooted in the fact that they simply have a better algorithm and smarter, more effective services. Can we punish them for that?
Tags: google, fandango, universal search, search, the economist