Google autolinking controversy
p2pnet.net News:- “When Web surfers install the toolbar in their Internet Explorer Web browser and click the AutoLink button, Web pages with street addresses suddenly sprout links to Google’s map service by default. Book publishers’ ISBN numbers trigger links to Amazon.com, potentially luring shoppers away from competing book sellers such as BarnesandNoble.com. Vehicle ID licenses spawn links to Carfax.com, while package tracking numbers connect automatically to shippers’ Web sites.”
That’s a quote from the San Francisco Chronicle on Google’s new toolbar with AutoLink which, it says, “adds hyperlinks in Web pages where none had existed before, giving the world’s most widely used Internet search provider a powerful tool to funnel traffic to destinations of its choice”.
No doubt Google has a perfectly reasonable excuse. It always does and indeed, “Google said the feature, available only in the US, ‘adds useful links’,” says the BBC, continuing:
“But some users are concerned that Google’s dominant position in the search engine market place could mean it would be giving a competitive edge to firms like Amazon.’
AutoLink works by creating a link to a website based on information contained in a webpage, “even if there is no link specified and whether or not the publisher of the page has given permission,” says the Beeb, which also has Cory Doctorow stating, “Of course Google should be allowed to direct people to whatever proxies it chooses.”
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See:-
funnel traffic - Google’s linking toolbar irritates online cruisers, San Francisco Chronicle, February 22, 2005
competitive edge – Google’s toolbar sparks concern, BBC News Online, February 22, 2005
February 22nd, 2005 at 8:45 pm
No one is making anyone use google. Unlike microsoft, your computer or browser does not come pre configured to use google’s toolbar. Firefox might use google as the default search engine, but no toolbar, and must that know how to install firsfox also know how to change the default home page..
I for one love google and think that it is cool that they make browsing easer by hyperlinking words and numbers of intrest. they have in no way removed my freedome of choice.
If I am on maandpopsbooks.com and find a book that i want, a google hyperlink to amazon.com for the same book, will not make me buy from amazon instead of maandpops..
February 22nd, 2005 at 11:19 pm
I’m normally a big fan of Google too, but IMO changing the appearance and functionality of other websites is one step too far. Surfers may not see a problem with it–although I hate when I’m browsing sites and random links start appearing (thanks to adware, spyware, etc.). Webmasters, however, do NOT like the idea of browsers and/or browser add-ons altering content.
Google should offer a way for webmasters to disable the autolink feature on their own sites. This could easily be done with a META tag or a special robots.txt entry, but they MUST keep the autolink and google’s search engine “googlebot” distinct and separate. (If they don’t, I think they do risk falling into antitrust territory not unlike Microsoft has.)
February 23rd, 2005 at 4:27 pm
Well, the toolbar is a free utility for the end user. I tihnk that it is a fair tradeoff for a firm to pay Google to essentially advertise through the tool by posting some links to its site in order to pay Google for their free service. If you don’t like the link, don’t click it!
February 23rd, 2005 at 4:29 pm
That is a very good idea, and I’m sure if it were suggested to Google they would do it. That way, every site that doesn’t put that one, really may want an enhancement that the toolbar could provide.
February 23rd, 2005 at 5:04 pm
This may sound like a good idea, but your forcing web designers to include something to opt out, when it should be more like an opt in to have this feature enabled on your browser page.
Google should submit for a meta tag that allows their toolbar to add content rather than force every web author to design pages to opt out.
An opt in tag could then explicitly grant permission to what sites may be redirected to, or limit permissible redirects respecting author design concept.