Last week, we talked about Google's new tool: trends for websites. In response, Michael Gray wrote a fantastic post about how Google gave us access to our website data, but not Google's itself. When you search for Google.com, you get "Google.com has no data available for ranking."
Not so fair, is it?
Barry Welford takes the discussion to Cre8asite Forums where he says that it may be a good idea for Google to look for an ombudsman to ensure equity. Should it be done?
In theory, it's a good idea. Will it work, though? It's hard to say. The concept of "fairness" on the Internet is difficult to ascertain, according to Joe Dolson. In another counter-argument, iamlost says that the web developers need to grow up. This is exactly what happens because you're using Google Analytics. (Thus, the Google Trends data is actually an opt-in procedure.) Still, however, just because Google is so big doesn't entitle them to do whatever they want. An ombudsman would be a private entity (hired by Google) to ensure fairness on all fronts. Personally, I think that it's a very smart idea.
The discussion ensues on Cre8asite Forums, with many people thinking that it may not work out, and others believing that Google already has a right to use this information in this particular case, so applying the ombudsman theory to this argument is a weak one. Check it out at the Cre8asite Forums.
