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Google About Openness
sopssa writes "Several sites, including TechCrunch and The Register, are reporting about an email Google's VP Jonathan Rosenberg sent to employees on Monday about the meaning of open. 'At Google we believe that open systems win. They lead to more innovation, value, and freedom of choice for consumers, and a vibrant, profitable, and competitive ecosystem for businesses. ... Our goal is to keep the Internet open, which promotes choice and competition and keeps users and developers from getting locked in.' But are we likely to see Google open their search engine, advertising or the famous back-end system? In their words, that would mean Google and other companies would need to work harder and innovate more to keep their users, for everyone's benefit."
I don't trust them. I cannot trust them because in the United States a public corporation is required by law, first and foremost, to do what is in the best interests of shareholders which generally means anything which legally maximizes profits. As long as Brin and Page continue to deliver the profits, the shareholders will go along with whatever they want to do, but if it comes down to profits or data liberation, I am betting on profits winning the argument; whether or not that is good for "openness".
I agree. What sets Google apart certainly isn't that their the good guys but maybe the fact that they seem to want that appearance. After they've turned into such cracked out pack rats with personal/usage/search information, they've got some imagination trying to seem like the good guys. Look out, here comes the next Micro$oft in disguise!!