The Story
Google recently added a new feature to Google Maps called Places, which provides information on a location from right inside Google Maps. For example, if you search Tartine Bakery on Google Maps, you’ll get its map location along with a whole slew of other information about it, such as reviews and pricing and photos. That comprises the Places page.
The concern levied today was over whether or not Google was using its power as the largest search engine in the world to push its own content. The Places page for a lot of locations was showing up before similar content from other sites such as Yelp and New York Times Travel. This was despite the fact that Places had just launched, which meant by Google’s algorithm it shouldn’t have as high of a search ranking. Additionally, Google Maps is usually at the top of search results when you search for a place. So Google seemed to be giving its content an unfair amount of weight.
Not There Yet
It later came to light that this was a mistake and that Google was taking measures to blacklist Places from the main search results section. But still, someone could argue that it’s dangerous for Google to point to its own content. After all, the company essentially controls how we browse the internet. Aside from your list of normal sites, you see outside content based on where Google sends you. So if Google starts directing people to only its stuff, then the concept of the internet is essentially dead.
But Google has yet to become the evil dictator, despite the recent Places debacle. The reason I say this is because Google is still legitimately directing people to content that they want to see. If someone searches “online email,” they damn well better see Gmail as one of the top few results. Gmail is genuinely a site of interest for people looking for email, regardless of whether or not Google controls it. The same is true for a search along the lines of “online alternative to microsoft word.” Sure, people should get the unavoidable blog posts on “Seven Free Online Word Processing Applications,” but I’m much happier with Google Docs at the top.
That said, the concern that Google will just send people within its own ecosystem is a very real one. Reading my last paragraph, I sound like I’ve been guzzling the Google Kool-Aid for a very long time. And it scares me, too. Google very well could destroy the internet as we know it, which is why having an alternative like Bing is so important – if Google decides to be more like Yahoo than like a search engine, we all need a place where we can go.
