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Texas opens inquiry into Google search rankings

danarhea

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SAN FRANCISCO — Google Inc.'s methods for recommending websites are being reviewed by Texas' attorney general in an investigation spurred by complaints that the company has abused its power as the Internet's dominant search engine.

The antitrust inquiry disclosed by Google late Friday is just the latest sign of the intensifying scrutiny facing the company as it enters its adolescence. Since its inception in a Silicon Valley garage 12 years ago, Google has gone from a quirky startup to one of the world's most influential businesses with annual revenue approaching $30 billion.

WTF??? You know, this is something I might expect from California, but Texas? You have to be kidding me.

Look, Google is a private company, and it is not the only search engine out there. If you have a beef with Google, then use Bing, Mama, Dogpile, or....... Hell, there are a gazillion search engines out there, and it is up to YOU to decide which one you use.

IMHO, the market should decide this issue, not the damn government, which has other issues it should be dealing with. The government has absolutely no business meddling in the market here. Meanwhile if Google is gaming it's own search algorithms, that's it's own business, which will hurt them in the long run. Just let the market sort it out, which is what would happen if the government kept it's damn mitts and my tax money out of it.

Texas? Damn, WTF is Rick Perry up to now? I wonder if he has stock in Microsoft. :mrgreen:

Article is here.
 
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WTF??? You know, this is something I might expect from California, but Texas? You have to be kidding me.

Look, Google is a private company, and it is not the only search engine out there. If you have a beef with Google, then use Bing, Mama, Dogpile, or....... Hell, there are a gazillion search engines out there, and it is up to YOU to decide which one you use.

IMHO, the market should decide this issue, not the damn government, which has other issues it should be dealing with. The government has absolutely no business meddling in the market here. Meanwhile if Google is gaming it's own search algorithms, that's it's own business, which will hurt them in the long run. Just let the market sort it out, which is what would happen if the government kept it's damn mitts and my tax money out of it.

Texas? Damn, WTF is Rick Perry up to now? I wonder if he has stock in Microsoft. :mrgreen:

Article is here.

I use Yahoo! and Baidu for searches... I never really got into the habit of using Google...
 
I have used Google to do reaserch for my Radio show for years and I find it very helpful and the best for gathering information on almost any subject.

I have however heard that there might be a something unsavory going on when it comes to what sites a listed first. There might be a kind of payola involved.

I know Google is set up to automatically track certain words you use in your G-mail account so they can list Ads for product related to what you said. If you tak=lk about your Dog an Ad will show up in a column on the right of the reply you receive about the Dog message telling you about Gravy Train or Purina dog food.

I did notice last year that when I Googled myself I was turning up in the top 5 for a while and a couple of times it took me here. I was totally baffled by that for sure.
 
WTF??? You know, this is something I might expect from California, but Texas? You have to be kidding me.

Look, Google is a private company, and it is not the only search engine out there. If you have a beef with Google, then use Bing, Mama, Dogpile, or....... Hell, there are a gazillion search engines out there, and it is up to YOU to decide which one you use.

IMHO, the market should decide this issue, not the damn government, which has other issues it should be dealing with. The government has absolutely no business meddling in the market here. Meanwhile if Google is gaming it's own search algorithms, that's it's own business, which will hurt them in the long run. Just let the market sort it out, which is what would happen if the government kept it's damn mitts and my tax money out of it.

Texas? Damn, WTF is Rick Perry up to now? I wonder if he has stock in Microsoft. :mrgreen:

Article is here.

I know nothing about the merits of the actual argument, but given google's predominance in the search engine field, it's not at all unreasonable for a state to launch an antitrust inquiry. The fact that consumers could choose to use another service doesn't really matter if 90+% of consumers are using one particular service.
 
What is the basis for the anti-trust suit? The article doesn't give a specific cause, which makes it seem like a fishing expedition. Investigations should be based around specific allegations, not vague claims.
 
Seriously I have to know what is with the random linking to random sites?

He thinks that by linking to things like "hell" and "txsucks" in a thread about texas, he's going to affect the google results when people search for texas. It's neither amusing nor on-topic.
 
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Google's results are just far superior to every other search engine's. That's why everyone uses google in the first place.
 
WTF??? You know, this is something I might expect from California, but Texas? You have to be kidding me.

Look, Google is a private company, and it is not the only search engine out there. If you have a beef with Google, then use Bing, Mama, Dogpile, or....... Hell, there are a gazillion search engines out there, and it is up to YOU to decide which one you use.

IMHO, the market should decide this issue, not the damn government, which has other issues it should be dealing with. The government has absolutely no business meddling in the market here. Meanwhile if Google is gaming it's own search algorithms, that's it's own business, which will hurt them in the long run. Just let the market sort it out, which is what would happen if the government kept it's damn mitts and my tax money out of it.

Texas? Damn, WTF is Rick Perry up to now? I wonder if he has stock in Microsoft. :mrgreen:

Article is here.

The presumption of the google rankings in the general public is that the most frequently hit site is listed on top. If Google is manipulating the rankings, it's engaging in deceptive business practices and it either needs to state up front that it's rankings are sold, or otherwise inform the public that the rankings are manipulated.

If there is no hanky-panky then there's no issue.
 
Google's results are just far superior to every other search engine's. That's why everyone uses google in the first place.

No, that's like saying Microsoft's operating system is far superior to the others, because why else would so many people be using such a peice of crap?

People use Google because that's what they've been indoctrinated to go to first.
 
WTF??? You know, this is something I might expect from California, but Texas? You have to be kidding me.

Look, Google is a private company, and it is not the only search engine out there. If you have a beef with Google, then use Bing, Mama, Dogpile, or....... Hell, there are a gazillion search engines out there, and it is up to YOU to decide which one you use.

IMHO, the market should decide this issue, not the damn government, which has other issues it should be dealing with. The government has absolutely no business meddling in the market here. Meanwhile if Google is gaming it's own search algorithms, that's it's own business, which will hurt them in the long run. Just let the market sort it out, which is what would happen if the government kept it's damn mitts and my tax money out of it.

Texas? Damn, WTF is Rick Perry up to now? I wonder if he has stock in Microsoft. :mrgreen:

Article is here.

What problem do they have with it - Does Conservipedia not come up with a high enough ranking?
 
No, that's like saying Microsoft's operating system is far superior to the others, because why else would so many people be using such a peice of crap?

People use Google because that's what they've been indoctrinated to go to first.

No, people use Windows because it's on basically every computer and they can only choose that or a macintosh that's twice as expensive with the same power.

Every single search engine is free, and every single search engine is available to anybody with an internet connection. Your analogy is way off. I've used every search engine, google just gets me what I want faster and cleaner. They call that a superior product. You free-market-is-perfect types should love Google!
 
No, people use Windows because it's on basically every computer and they can only choose that or a macintosh that's twice as expensive with the same power.

Every single search engine is free, and every single search engine is available to anybody with an internet connection. Your analogy is way off. I've used every search engine, google just gets me what I want faster and cleaner. They call that a superior product. You free-market-is-perfect types should love Google!

Gotta agree. Chrome/Google is a formidable combination. They supplement and complement each other resourcefully.
 
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