It was Google

wasnt it

[malcolmcroucher]

it was google that decided to keep things simple with a simple homepage that had nothing on it .

It was google that decided to not follow the money and be a bit different

Yet it googles adsense that clutters up every bit of page in order to generate someone a bit of income.

what next Google

[tedster]

Well, it is the individual webmaster who decides how to display Adsense, and not Google.

[Quadrille]

Google keeps their search engine page fairly clutter-free, as they feel that search users neither want nor need distraction.

That really has little connection with some idiot with a page of poor content who decides to fill every nook and cranny with adsense.

But let's face it, if Google didn't exist, idiot webmasters would find SOMETHING to pad out their cr*p pages with :)

If they used Amazon links, would you blame Amazon? ;)

[CainIV]

It was google that decided to not follow the money and be a bit different

Um really?

Don't blame the clouds for no rain in the desert.

[piatkow]

Simple homepage but sponsored links in the results.

[whitenight]

<Disclaimer: Any "Google Bashing" in this or any other of my posts if for the purposes of helping webmasters. This is a webmasters board, not a Google board. Google is a wonderful company that "gets it", while many webmasters and small business owners would do wise to do as Google does..not as they say.>

(Sorry, but seems I need to clarify that in every post)
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Now to answer the OP question.

Yes, it was Google.
The Google of 2001. NOT the Google of 2005-?

Many "smart" companies have used the same process.
Start off as "make-the-world-a-better-place" and "serve-the-greater-good" organizations and become "big corporate money-makers" that only have profits in mind.

Whether, they "planned" this from the beginning is almost irrelevant.
Profit does that to people, organizations.

So much the better if one has planned ahead to incorporate this philosophy, if indeed, one's goal is to make money.

When it happens "by accident", it creates ill-will (and some might say "bad karma")

Wiki is launching their new SE in the near future and you can bet they will monetizing the heck out it.

Since the internet began, many successful people have continually said, "Build content, which equals traffic, and THEN monetize it."

It's a good business model... not the only business model, but a good one, nonetheless.

[Quadrille]

Disclaimer: there won't be any "Google Bashing" in this or any of my posts, as I find it tedious and totally unhelpful to webmasters or anyone else. I reserve the right, of course, to criticise Google, and regularly do so when warranted. Google is an amazing company that "gets it", and many webmasters would do much, much better learning from them than carping. Glad that's off my chest ;)

And the OP's post, as mentioned above, is quite inappropriate in blaming Google, in this instance.