Forum Moderators: goodroi
The internet is fast becoming a "cesspool" where false information thrives, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said yesterday. Speaking with an audience of magazine executives visiting the Google campus here as part of their annual industry conference, he said their brands were increasingly important signals that content can be trusted."Brands are the solution, not the problem," Mr. Schmidt said. "Brands are how you sort out the cesspool."
quoting "In response to an inquiry for advice about appearing more popular on Google, Schmidt told the magazine publishers, "We don't actually want you to be successful...the fundamental way to increase your rank is to increase your relevance.""
Quoting Schmidt :
That said, magazines and other professional content creators are essential for Google's efforts to help people find desirable content, he explained. "We don't do content," he said. "You all create content. It's a natural partnership."
It may be a fine partnership for Google but once magazines start giving away content their subscriptions likely drop dramatically. That said they are dependent on Google guaranteeing them rankings to exist and profit.
On the subject of print, especially newspapers as we have known them, Mr. Schmidt was decidedly gloomy. "The evidence is not good," he said, guessing that the print business will eventually comprise a smaller piece of publishers' much larger online businesses.
Won’t the same eventually happen to the magazines, as they become dependent on search engine rankings. Plus the rankings would likely have to be guaranteed if I was encouraging a magazine to go in Google’s direction.
The internet's no more of a cesspool than it was 10 years ago
I completely agree. Schmidt's statement was either flippant or that of someone who is losing touch with the real net.
Print will migrate to mobile.
Mobile will migrate to telepathy.
Mobile will migrate to telepathy.
Then personal freedom will cease to exist. I can't wait!
But that doesn't mean branded content is of higher quality than independent content without the funds to brand.
It's now possible for anyone to lie and rumor-monger on a global scale that was, only a few years ago, available only to a handful of mass-media companies that, at least, were answerable to stockholders, the public, and relevant government agencies. Today, you can lie to the whole world without any significant investment whatsoever.
What to do? Damned if I know.
It should be everyone's God Given right to lie ;)
Today, you can lie to the whole world without any significant investment whatsoever.
Today you can also tell the whole world the truth with no investment. Truth being relative you can't do away with one and keep the other.
