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Growing Up Can Be Evil
By Jim Hedger, StepForth News Editor, StepForth Placement Inc.
June 15, 2005
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Google Bundles Toolbar and Desktop Search Application with WinZip
Why do our friends change so much when they grow up? Remember when we were
kids and didn’t have to think about dealing with utility bills, mortgage
instalments, taxes, rent, student loans, groceries and car payments? After
passing through the awkward stage of adolescence, most of us find ourselves
resigned to compromising our values in one way or another in order to get
a bigger piece of whatever pie we are chasing. It happens so subtly that
most of us don’t even notice that we have made such compromises or
that they have changed our lives. It just happens that way. Through talent,
dedication, luck, and the fortunate conflux of all three at the same time,
some find great wealth, influence and power when they grow up. Google officially
became an adult late last summer after surviving the techno coming of age
ritual known as the IPO. Now that they are all grown up, Google appears
to be willing to make compromises on their beloved core mission: to make
money without being evil.
Late last month, WinZip Computing Inc, the makers of one of the most popular
file compression tools made an agreement with Google to bundle two well
known Google applications in with downloadable versions of their WinZip
software. As of last week, people downloading WinZip will also download
copies of the Google Toolbar and Google’s desktop search application.
While users are given an opt-out option, the WinZip executable file will,
by default, install and activate the toolbar and desktop search application.
The odd thing is neither application has anything to do with compressing
files except perhaps to help a user find such files on the net or on their
hard drives.
To be fair, Google’s toolbar and desktop search applications are
both very useful applications but Google’s use of this method of distribution
is starting to disturb many in the web community. By bundling their software
in with unrelated applications, it appears Google is muscling its way onto
unwitting users’ hard drives, a practice that leaves long time Google
watchers questioning their motivation and marketing savvy. To remain fair,
Yahoo does
it as well but Yahoo has no pretensions around their relationship
with stuff that might be considered “evil”.
The toolbar provides users instant access to a wide array of Google applications
with a search query box, a pagerank meter, a pop-up blocker, an auto fill
feature for online forms and a bunch of other user-defined features. It
also includes the infamous Autolinks button that alters websites by adding
links from Google Local, Google Maps, FedEx, UPI, Carfax or Amazon (depending
on the content) when activated. The toolbar provides Google with a great
deal of information about its users.
Google Desktop keeps a highly useful record of files stored on a user’s
computer by spidering the contents of that user’s hard drive. While
the spider and all results are kept on the user’s computer, non-identifying
information such a page visits, document views, searches and usage, are
shared with Google.
Both applications are used to provide Google with deep mines of demographic
data to support the development of direct contextual ad distribution, and
of course, a better search experience for its loyal users.
Bundling one piece of software in with another application is not a new
thing and might not be considered “evil”. As a matter of fact,
this is hardly the first time Google has used bundling in their marketing
efforts. In exchange for Google inspiring and fostering their growth, several
basic versions of the Firefox browser default to a Firefox flavoured Google
homepage. As noted in Search
Engine Watch, Google also bundles the toolbar
and desktop with DVD creation software from InterVideo and with downloads
of RealPlayer.
Bundling can also provide an avenue of distribution for smaller software
developers who have created complimentary applications for the products
they tag along on. small but useful pieces of software are often distributed
by attaching their executable files to the EXE’s of software packages
they were designed to compliment. Multiplayer online games often come with
a copy of the GameSpy search application which helps gamers locate nearby
or favoured servers to play on. Users of accounting programs like QuickBooks
or Quicken might find third party software designed to help file taxes online
or calculate local income tax rates included in the initial install. These
additional applications are useful to the end-user and their inclusion is
a form of business partnership that provides a valuable customer service.
Sometimes bundling is used to pay the bills. That’s when bundled
software can bring big time badness. A few years ago online file traders
faced all sorts of problems after they installed versions of Kazaa and Bearshare
infected with Gator user-tracking and marketing software. Not only did it
watch and record what users did, in some cases it took over other applications.
Websites wouldn’t load properly, URLs would be redirected and unrelated
apps would mysteriously stop working properly.
When I was in Toronto recently, while visiting my parents, I was forced
to install Firefox and then cleanse my father’s computer of mal-ware
to access my Gmail account. An IE toolbar offered by a local Toronto radio
station had malicious software bundled into it. Software designed by a company
whose penchant for lawsuits is legendary prevented me from accessing Google
and my Gmail account by redirecting anything with the Google URL to a spam-site
search tool.
Sometimes bundling is used to control or dominate a market. Windows operating
systems are the ultimate example of how bundling can be used to deliver
extremely complementary applications as an all-in-one package with the goal
of outright OS domination. The kneecapping of Netscape in the short browser
wars of the mid-90’s was accomplished by bundling Internet Explorer
in with versions of Windows95. Previously, Internet Explorer was sold as
stand-alone software.
Acquiring new users and maintaining user loyalty is a major piece of the
overall marketing pie for every major search engine and Google is increasingly
including pieces of itself with the install of other pieces of software.
While working to increase Google account holders by any means possible,
the practice of pushing products on users who wanted to use an unrelated
product is producing PR problems. Not only does Google need to avoid being
evil, it needs to avoid appearing to be evil.
These are problems that don’t really need to happen. Google already
allows application developers to work Google search technology into their
creations through their Application
Programming Interface (API) program.
Yahoo also offers a similar Developer
Network API. Allowing developers access
to branded search technology helps build a better web and, in the context
of power-giants like Google and Yahoo, is a much cleaner method of brand
distribution than the piggyback method of bundling.
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