Google's Stomach Pangs - Adjusting to DoubleClick

An anonymous reader writes "C|Net is reporting on some trouble Google is having integrating DoubleClick into their family of products. External problems, like antitrust allegations and privacy concerns, are bad enough. The worst problems might come from within, though, as a division within DoubleClick was essentially created to game the very systems the Google search engine is founded on. '"Google is treading in dangerous waters right now," writes Ross Dunn of WebProNews.com. Google's search results "are supposed to be unbiased and highly relevant," but with Performics, "Google is put into the conflicted position of trying to generate profits by providing result-oriented organic ranking services for its own unbiased organic search results." The worry, in other words, is that Google's search results could be compromised by operating a division with an interest in skewing those results in favor of clients.' The article goes on to say how this Performics division is likely to be sold off to make sure everything stays above board."

Comments

Why so shocked now...?

[djupedal]

When Google was just first learning to crawl, it took in money by providing 'favored' links as part of otherwise standard searches done by users. Results routinely reflected hits that ranked/displayed higher simply because their owners paid for that to happen. These salted links seemed innocent enough, but anyone spending time using various search engines back then could easily spot the ringers.

Anyone that believes otherwise needs to take off the blinders :)

Google's public honeymoon may be over

[gvc]

Everybody knows to put *doubleclick* in every blacklist/adblock list. Now that Google has bought them, the public might wake up to the fact that they are in the same business. True, Google, provides a pretty good search engine, email service, and whatever. But the bottom line is profiling for the purpose of advertising.

Google's adsense is a major cash cow for web spammers. Although Google purports to clamp down on the worst offenders, they are in conflict of interest because they profit directly from this sort of thing -- exactly what earned Doubleclick its well-deserved reputation.