Slog
News & ArtsWednesday, January 11, 2012
Teh Internets Google, Force Us to Use Bing!
Posted by Dominic Holden on Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 6:10 PM
Reddit's decision to have a blackout to protest SOPA next Wednesday is a ballsy (busty?) move. But you know who should really do a blackout? GOOGLE!
Think about it, Google: You'd get to protest an odious attempt to censor the internet, which is something y'all should at least pretend to care about, and get a bunch of rabid attention. I know, your search engine is a business, not Anonymous. But even by corporate metrics, imagine the publicity: headline news around the world all about how we need Google, how hard life will be for a day without Google, and, next Wednesday, stories about how we are all literally dying this very second without Google! Your name would sing from the top of every newscast. Imagine ABC News profiles on executives who can't send an internet. People struggling to work a Bing! Browsers that open to a homepage of despair! All cured by your triumphant return as SOPA gets the scrutiny it deserves. That's the sort of publicity (and advocacy) that money can't buy, but, bizarrely, it is the sort of publicity you can get by doing nothing for a day.
1
You have just about as much of a chance of Google protesting internet censorship as you have for Obama protesting the steady march toward World War 3. But hey, Google's slogan is 'don't be evil' and Obama has a Nobel Peace Prize so....
2
Oh, I love how anti-evil Google advertised discounts on materials that people talked about planning to use to kill themselves on the Google suicide chat rooms.
Also, seriously, people are so funny. Google and Bing work almost identically. Plus, Bing Travel is fucking brilliant.
Also, seriously, people are so funny. Google and Bing work almost identically. Plus, Bing Travel is fucking brilliant.
3
They won't do it, for a simple reason: Once people use Bing for a day, they'll realize it's just as good as Google, and they might not switch back.
7
second @3. it will never happen because bing works just as well as google. and i love their daily photo.
8
@Zeusifer until they see all the search reaults die at Bong 'cause they're really Google pulls. ;)
10
@9 Obviously the keyword alerts on their Google Reader feeds led them over to not-so-subtly advertise and defend the DOS.
12
Fuck Bing and their shit algorithms and their shit services. Google should bring all their products down in protest. I have this dream where they would coordinate with Amazon web services and bring the internet to it's knees. Just instructions on how to contact congress.
14
No, fuck that.
Yes, a Google blackout might send a strong message and blah blah blah.
But a Bing blackout would be fucking funny. Pathetic, yes if you have any pity in your heart for Microsoft, but funny none the less.
Yes, a Google blackout might send a strong message and blah blah blah.
But a Bing blackout would be fucking funny. Pathetic, yes if you have any pity in your heart for Microsoft, but funny none the less.
15
Or Yahoo! Shit, it's too bad those poor dumb saps at Yahoo are gone because wouldn't it be funny if they blacked out Yahoo to make a point and everyone would be like, "What? Yahoo? Do they still even exist?"
Which only underscores my point. If Bing is going to do a hilarious blackout they'd better do it soon while they still can.
Which only underscores my point. If Bing is going to do a hilarious blackout they'd better do it soon while they still can.
17
Yeah, this seems a little futile until they get more people on board, because I'm pretty sure there are maybe five people at the outside who browse Reddit and don't already oppose SOPA.
@3, hahahahaha, you fucking shill. GTFO.
@3, hahahahaha, you fucking shill. GTFO.
18
@13 Yes I hate Bing. And I hate Congress. But everything, no. And I do passionately believe that companies like Google and Amazon have the power to demonstrate to Congress, the consequences of SOPA/PIPA. The initial congressional hearings on this legislation was horrifying. But then I read about something like Soapy and I think maybe it will all work out. However, I would still urge everyone to contact there representative and tell them to vote no. It's important.
19
There's no way google could pull off a blackout for political reasons. Yeah, when reddit does is, it's a spunky statement from an internet little guy, but google has basically gotten to the point where people think of it as an internet utility, and the outrage over being arbitrarily deprived of the service for a day would be deafening.
And no, bing is not anywhere near as good. I've given it many chances, and the number of times it has turned up absolutely nothing useful on searches that google hits out of the park outnumber the times it's actually been useful. Fuck it.
And no, bing is not anywhere near as good. I've given it many chances, and the number of times it has turned up absolutely nothing useful on searches that google hits out of the park outnumber the times it's actually been useful. Fuck it.
20
I love the idea, but Google probably doesn't want publicity if it increases the perception that they're taking over the world. Not good for future antitrust lawsuits.
Anything that shows how much we *need* them, how much they have us all by the balls will not make people like them more.
Ultimately, bad PR.
Anything that shows how much we *need* them, how much they have us all by the balls will not make people like them more.
Ultimately, bad PR.
21
Just came across this article: Hundreds Threaten Suicide At Microsoft Supplier Plant In China http://seattle.cbslocal.com/2012/01/10/h…
"Some 300 Chinese Foxconn employees who manufacture X-box 360 machines said they would throw themselves from their Wuhan, China, plant if demands for lost wages were not met."
"Some 300 Chinese Foxconn employees who manufacture X-box 360 machines said they would throw themselves from their Wuhan, China, plant if demands for lost wages were not met."
22
@9, @10, @11: Yes, we read Slog. I've read Slog nearly every day since I moved to Seattle in 2006, and I'm far from the only one.
23
Sorry, gotta add to @9, @10, @11: we live next door to you, we spend money at local businesses, we pay taxes which deliver critical services to King County, we advocate for causes that Slog holds dear (think of the employee revolt several years ago when MSFT mgmt waffled on gay rights)... I get questioning our business practices--I read our market research regularly, and I understand--but your comments are entirely about hating the people you see everyday. Why?
24
They already did this when they killed GOOG-411, so I see no reason why they shouldn't do it with search.
Back When Internet Was Cool, even Yahoo turned its page black to protest Internet Censorship. http://tinyurl.com/5vmgs7 These ain't them days.
Back When Internet Was Cool, even Yahoo turned its page black to protest Internet Censorship. http://tinyurl.com/5vmgs7 These ain't them days.
25
I'd like to google to do a boycott of SOPA supporters. Can you imagine if they refused to link to any sites affiliated with SOPA? And it shouldn't be a day it should be from now until January 28th. Let them see what happens when traffic to their sites grinds to a halt because we can't see the links in our searches.
26
I cannot get worked up about a revolution whose point is to deny Eric Clapton his royalties for Layla.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th3ycKQV_…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th3ycKQV_…
27
A Google blackout would be quite a lesson on internet economics. Not just for them, but for all of the businesses so closely interwoven with Google. It would hurt alot of people besides Google.
I do expect Google to start raising awareness to this issue through their advertising prowess, however.
And fucking bing is a retarded gimmick, a play on google duh.
I do expect Google to start raising awareness to this issue through their advertising prowess, however.
And fucking bing is a retarded gimmick, a play on google duh.
28
@23, hey buttsore. dont take microsofty criticism so personally. i have plenty of friends that work there and they don't drink the kool-aid so readily.
29
Bing isn't that bad, but better than both bing and google is duckduckgo. No bubbling, no tracking, and the excellent red disambiguation box.
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