Google vs. Microsoft – Who’s the Bad Guy?
Sunday, May 4th, 2008;
-- Alan Johnson |
A recent article here on MarketingPilgrim, which referred to an interview with Eric Schmidt, where he basically saw Microsoft as the “evil” company the knight in shining armor (since Google’s CEO was being interviewed, I’m sure it’s clear who he sees as the “knight in shining armor”) needs to protect us from gave me the idea for today’s post
Obviously, the opinion in question is anything but objective, but it does make us wonder: who exactly is the bad guy? Given the fact that Google and Microsoft don’t exactly have a stainless track record, it’s definitely hard to tell.
On the one hand, we have Google as the biggest player in search, a company which is basically dominating the Web and, as a result, it should come as no surprise that most folks see this as something extremely dangerous. The fact that they are also in quite a shopping spree also contributes to the “bad guy” image Google has.
On the other hand, there’s Microsoft and I believe the name says it all. It’s definitely safe to assume that Microsoft is not exactly the most popular company and, naturally, their previous interest in Yahoo! is seen by many as an attempt to try and dominate the Web as well, as an attempt to crush a company which, as far as search is concerned, seems to be following in their footsteps when it comes to “domination” (once again, the word “Windows” says it all).
All in all, two big players are competing for an extremely important piece of the Internet pie: Yahoo! (note: MSFT has now withdrawn its bid) . Even more so, it seems that both of them are as hungry as it gets and, as funny as it may sound, both of them are actually trying to convince us that they are here to “save us”.
Will Google save us from Microsoft? Will Microsoft save us from Google? You can’t be serious! The image of an Internet user who believes that one of these two companies is here to save him or her is similar to that of a fish who expects to be saved by one of the two fishermen who have just arrived at the lake.
Let’s keep our feet on the ground, shall we? Google or Microsoft, who is the bad guy? It would be harsh to label any of the two companies as “bad guys”, but one thing is clear: none of them are knights in shining armor.
Best wishes,
Alan Johnson
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May 4th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
In my own opinion, Google get’s the razzie award for all of it’s strict compliance rules. Why smash a little guy like myself because people want their products and services given maximum exposure?
May 4th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Please save me from MS passport.net crap.
Elections guy’s last blog post..Polls before Pennsylvania primary: Obama most popular
May 4th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
@Elections guy - I agree, but then again we’re all happy to sign-up for a Google Account–which is the same as Passport, no?
May 4th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
@Andy Beal - It’s same yes, but interfaces are different.. Any you can hack a msn account very easily.
May 4th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Neither are particularly bad guys. They are both trying to make as much money as possible no matter how well they try and describe it. Microsft dominating the software sector is as bad as Google dominating the internet. People use Google because it’s the best out there so why should they be attacked because of the great service they use. There is also a reason Microsoft grew so big.
Neither are bad guys. They both just want money..
John
May 4th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Wii guy, you are right, it’s all about the bottom line. However when do little people like myself get rewarded for their efforts to get an outlet to make some money too? I can’t rely on google’s adsense and its “smart-pricing” of ad network. When my site gets repeatedly knocked from a PR4 to a PR0, that pretty much kills me in my marketing efforts.
tony dee’s last blog post..Comfortable Workout Clothing
May 5th, 2008 at 3:24 am
well google is always playing god as far as small webmasters like me are concern
May 5th, 2008 at 6:55 am
I try not to think of corporations as good guy and bad guy. In the end they are what they are. I can define them as ethical and unethical pretty easily though. I won’t expouse all of my opinions on these two corporations, but I do offer you some potential motives for both of them in my blog. While I don’t have anything against google, don’t think for a minute that microsoft couldn’t help keep the search giant in line.
May 5th, 2008 at 7:13 am
Oops. Here is a corrected link to the blog regarding the potential motives behind the microsoft and yahoo merger.
May 5th, 2008 at 7:48 am
We are talking about “saving us” even though monopoly is not a good thing for us, consumers. I would rather see a number of search engines rather than one giant made out of yahoo and Google.
May 5th, 2008 at 9:12 am
i think no one is the ‘bad guy’, they both are playing business. Google being the super power it will be very difficult for any other search engine to take over google.
Eva White’s last blog post..Celebrity Buzz?.
May 5th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Its a predicament, I dont like MSN yet that’s too much power for Google. Whatever happens will happen and we will adapt.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Yeah Eva is right. We cannot say Google is the bad guy or Microsoft is. Both of them have their own business to be the greatest web company…Even Yahoo I believe has this aim too.