The Problem With Google And Why You Should Care

When I read The Case Against Google in The New York Times last week it was with a typical technology interest eye. It was like reading the local paper about hit-and-runs, robberies, or the latest political scandal. Somewhat interesting, but it really doesn't affect me (thankfully). Or so I thought.

Then Medgadget published Our Case Against Google, which is a comprehensive (and damning) indictment of Google and the "GoogleFacebook duopoly". Their bottom line:

Google is an evil monopoly.

This is not a new red flag. Even nine years ago there were concerns: Is Google a Monopoly? Just ask Stack Overflow (and me). Note that this site's Google search traffic in 2009 was 95.9%. Now it's 98.4%, mostly because there are fewer search engine competitors around today.

Here's an overly simplistic summary of the effects of these monopolistic behaviors:

  1. It kills innovation. As the Raffs journey shows, superior technology can be easily crushed.
  2. It kills high-quality content, which is well-documented in the Medgadget article.

Companies trying to innovate or content providers that are dependent on ad revenue for survival are, of course, directly affected by this. But I'm not either of those, so how does this affect me?

I'm an Android/Gmail/Google Docs&Maps person (i.e. no Apple here). I take it for granted that all of these wonderful Google-supplied technologies and conveniences are free. Google funds these goodies through their anti-competitive tactics and biased search algorithms. Does this mean that I'm benefiting from Google's bad behavior?  No duh!

So the logical conclusion is that my Google freebies aren't free after all.

Technology innovation and high-quality content are also things that I take for granted. But in reality, these are being sacrificed and are the actual cost. The struggles (and potential failure) of companies like Foundem and Medgadget is a very high price to pay, and it's happening all the time as a result of Google's behavior.

Why you should care: Monopolistic behavior carries this high price for all of us. This is true no matter what technology you use.

Modern-day technology anti-trust litigation (including the 1998 Microsoft case) involve complex legal/business/technology issues that are well worth becoming educated about.

Unfortunately, battling 800-pound Gorillas is a difficult business.  Asking this small med-tech community to raise awareness wherever possible is the least we can do.

Thanks for reading!

Update (3/22/18): Google and Facebook can’t help publishers because they’re built to defeat publishers

 

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