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Search Engines Take Their Time Disclosing Paid Links
An anonymous reader says "This CNN.com article talks about how most search engines have not disclosed the difference between a paid ad and an 'objective' result. The one exception of course is every geek's favorite search engine, Google. Once again, hooray for Google!"
We mentioned the FTCs Mandate
that search engines be clear about who's paying for what. Apparently
all the non-google engines are on vacation ;)
... of a law we just don't need. why does it take the FCC to mandate such a thing, let the market decide. Google is already the defacto search engine, not just because of its tech. but also because of the way it does ads and not being "sold out" as far as search placement goes. why does the government feel this kind of thing requires legislation? if people want a search engine which doesn't sell search result positions, they'll use one. if they don't care, they won't. what's the big freaking deal. save the legislative branch for getting rid of all the stupid laws, not passing new mandates.
MORTAR COMBAT!
I would say that ethics requires them to do so, but then I turned on the latest finacial news.
Ethically they should disclose who pays them to sponser links, but will they; not unless forced too.
Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.
Not that I'm disagreeing with you, but...
How exactly is it deceiving the consumer? If I search for, say, "cars for sale" should I care about whence the reference comes? All I'm interested in is links, and if a paid link points me towards a car for sale, woohoo! If it doesn't, I've got a browser that comes equipped with a Back button. BFD. Your time may be worth thousands of dollars per hour, but I'm willing to spend that extra seven seconds per day to find out that what I see is what I get.
I'm not here to say that unannounced, paid links are dandy; I'm just saying that they're not the end of the bloody universe. And they're most emphatically not deceiving anyone. A lot of sites ask you to submit URLs to their search engine. Who gives a rat's arse whether it's paid for or not?
That's a load of crap. Just because something is a business doesn't mean that ethics are thrown out the window. This is sadly too often the case, but there's a reason you have to take a class called "Business Ethics" to get an MBA. As for disclosing who paid for the ad, that's not what we're talking about here at all. This is about telling people that the link they're clicking on is an ad! In order for the internet to maintain it's usability, Search Engines must be trusted sources of information. That's not the same as saying they aren't allowed to make money. They can make all the money they want, just so long as they aren't screwing with the results to favor someone who dropped some cash in their laps.
---- El diablo esta en mis pantalones! Mire, mire!
You, sir, are high. Or drunk. Just because someone springs the money for more advertising doesn't mean they offer superior products/services/information. The beauty of the web lies in the basic idea that it's a medium for everyone. Anyone can get a message out on the internet. The more that diminishes, the less useful the web becomes.
do not read this line twice.
"It's important for people to know whether or not their search results are being bought by big business," said Gary Ruskin, the group's executive director.
how is this harming consumers? the very notion of profit is evil to these people.
I'm very close to advertising. I've watched some of the decision making. It's not ethical.
Ever see a picture of strawberries? Chances are, that strawberry is covered in lipstick to make it an appealing shade of red. Everybody knows that McDonald's burgers look nothing like their picture. Car commercials feature locations that nobody'd ever take the car too. Heck, one showed a Jeep outrun a helicopter up a mountain. Ads, as a general business, are deceptive. Ever see that popup that looks like a message box saying 'you have 1 new message'? Heh.
If advertising was ethical, products wouldn't be held in such a ludicrously high light. They take whatever means are necessary to get people to come visit, with no regard to whether or not they're being deceptive. This is why search engines must disclose paid links.