Order! Order in the court I say! All rise for the honourable Judge Webby McWire. Google is once again called in to answer for their crimes against privacy and competition and this time their troupe of lawyers worthy of Mr C. Montgomery Burns can’t pull them out of the firing line. Oh and Mr Ballmer, if you don’t stop dancing in the back you’ll be held in contempt of web court.
Web court (for those who don’t know) is like real court except it’s a bit of a joke and a mockery of justice… Ok, it’s basically the same as regular court. However, in the real world this week, Google was dealt a couple of legal spankings with a multi-million dollar payout over privacy issues and an anti-competition inquiry.
Unsurprisingly, Buzz is the cause of much of Google’s woes yet again as 7 users badly affected by its early privacy issues have won out in a lawsuit against the search giant. Like breaking wind in a busy elevator, Buzz has been somewhat of an embarrassment for Google and has certainly left a bad taste in the mouth. The end result of all this? Google have agreed to pay out $8.5 million divided between legal fees, reparations to affected users and the remainder going to online privacy campaign groups. That fee was probably determined based on what Google had in their pockets at the time.
Google’s legal problems don’t end there either as they get set to face an anti-competition enquiry in the US. Accused of sabotaging competitor’s website's rankings through their search engine algorithm and pulling the heads off their Barbies, Google could be in this for the long haul.
Taking the attention away from Google courtroom shenanigans, the new instant search feature is up and running for users to enjoy, or get annoyed by. Since its creation, forums and blogs have been inundated with comments and posts deriding the new feature. Some think it will harm SEO or AdWords while other more extreme internet users think it’s pure evil.
Jim Wishaw, a Google user from Aberdeen said. “Every time I type in a search it keeps showing me these haggard soulless demon faces which when clicked present you with evil self-indulgent comments and more horrifying sinful images… Oh wait, I’m on Facebook. Never mind.”
Away from Google for now, and Bing must be feeling pretty good. Having initiated the takeover of Yahoo’s search results they are now looking at almost 25% of internet searches in a recent US poll. Microsoft Chief Exec Steve Ballmer was approached for comment but then attempted to steal the reporter’s shoes while shouting random quotes from the film Labyrinth and claiming he was the Goblin King. He was then led off by his carers.
On a final note this week, want to get your website indexed properly by search engines? Setup and submit an XML sitemap. It’s what all the cool kids are doing.
- Why Invest In Content Marketing? - March 12, 2013
- Why Creative Copywriting Can Make or Break Your Brand - March 12, 2013
- What is Your Sites Link Profile Saying about You? - February 19, 2013
- Can a Small On-line Business Really Compete with the Big Boys? - February 19, 2013
- Ramsay’s Web Wire – Issue #40: Sleet, Snow and SEO - December 3, 2010
- Ramsay’s Web Wire – Issue #39: Out of the Google Frying Pan… - November 26, 2010
- Ramsay’s Web Wire – Issue #38: The Google, the Bad and the Ugly - November 19, 2010
- Ramsay’s Web Wire – Issue #37: Google Jams A Few Rockets In Your Pocket - November 5, 2010
- Ramsay’s Web Wire – Issue #36: Google Gets All Up in Your Business - October 29, 2010
- Ramsay’s Web Wire – Issue #35: Google’s Groovy Giftset - October 22, 2010
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