There are a number of "wishes" that I have for Google's future.
While I would like number one ranking for all of my important keywords
and phrases, but I would be willing to settle for Google acknowledging
at least a few of my wishes that will benefit the search community as a
whole.
Google started out as the beloved child, a fledgling start
up that was all heart, and today they are a "hated" brand. Why the fall
from grace? In some ways Google is a victim of the too big, too
powerful, and too successful affliction that attacks companies that
achieve a level of success that few companies dream of. Now that does
not mean that I am giving them a pass, they have room to improve and I
really do not hate them. I just think there is a lot of areas they could
improve.
I sat down and wrote an open letter to Google about my wishes and dreams for their future:
Dear Google,
Please consider the following for areas of improvement.
1. Usenet and RSS.
Please,
I'm begging, (groveling if it will help) create RSS feeds for Google
Groups keyword searches. Think of the value, you could monitor Usenet
for company or product names using RSS feeds. This would be an extremely
easy way for businesses (and Google users) to stay in tune with what is
being said on Usenet and in forums about specific topics.
2. Privacy Policy.
Clarify
Google's privacy policy, and tell me EXACTLY how you are going to use
the aggregate data you collect. While most of us realize that the
personal information collected is of little value, the aggregate data is
extremely valuable. Google is an extremely powerful company, and this
collective data gives them a huge advantage in negotiating acquisitions
or determining trends. Many of us respect Google, its size and power,
but do not necessarily want to contribute to Google's additional growth.
Implement a way for customers wishing to pay a fee, to opt not to have
their data aggregated or tracked.
3. Protect Your Customers.
For
goodness sake, don't make it so easy for people to rip off software
companies. Why do you suggest cracks or serials on the Google Suggest
tool? Please help protect the intellectual property of your customers!
[http://labs.google.com/suggest]
4. Stop Tracking Everything I do!
I
login in to Writely (now Google Docs) and feel as if I am being
stalked, you monitor searches, you monitor tracking through analytics,
you monitor advertising through Google Adwords, you monitor money earned
as a publisher through Google AdSense, and now you have connected many
of the accounts together. Please give users a little privacy, or the
ability to easily manage multiple logins.
5. Tell Me How Much I Make!
Clearly
tell publishers what percentage range they can expect to receive when
they serve AdSense on their content websites. Now, I understand that it
might vary publisher to publisher, but disclose a range. Or at the very
least, consider adopting a model similar to Amazon's where publishers
percentage of revenue earned is based on their volume.
6. Google Alert via RSS.
The
current Google alert system is from the 1990's (figuratively speaking)
please offer an option to receive Google alerts via RSS feeds. I know
you can setup a Google News search using RSS, it seems silly that it is
not available via Google Alerts.
http://www.google.com/alerts
7. Faster Blog Indexing.
Google
is all about search, right? Why are they so slow at indexing blogs? In
fact the Google blog search performs far worse than many of the blog
specific search engines. Search should be Google's strength instead of a
weakness. Even the breadth of blogs searched, and the related blogs
listed on Google's blog search are on the thin side. Definitely room for
improvement in this area.
http://blogsearch.google.com
8. Same Rules.
I
wish that the rules were the same for all AdSense publishers regardless
of the revenue that they produced. In talking with publishers, it is
clear that there are a different set of standards, based on the revenue
produced or traffic that a website receives. Keep the playing field
even, if someone is using a subversive tactic, they should have be
penalized regardless of their revenue.
9. Combat 2nd Generation Fraud.
What
is second generation fraud? Fraudsters bid high for AdWords, what they
are paying for keywords or phrasing is irrelevant, because the credit
card they are using is fraudulent. They make legitimate affiliate sales
through the website and profit from their "free" traffic. Google should
help connect the dots on these sites, and ban the websites from their
organic index.
10. Drop DMOZ.
Please either drop the Google
Dmoz directory listings, or pay to staff DMOZ with reputable editors who
can keep up. The Dmoz listings are hopelessly outdated and not
reflective of current websites.
11. Protect Copyrights / Trademarks.
Google
seems to flip-flop on the issue of allowing competitors to bid on
branded words in their AdWords accounts. The current policy appears to
be, that competitors cannot use a trademark in the advertisement, but
competitors can still bid on trademarked terms. A company Google's size
should have more respect for trademarks. I really wish Google would
stand firm on the issue of trademarks and prevent competitors from
bidding on the terms.
12. Bury the Sandbox.
Dispose of the
sandbox or aging delay, or heck get rid of both. Face it, valuable
websites are created every day. The Internet is fluid and valuable
websites should not be penalized because of their youth. The sandbox and
aging delay, may deter spam sites, but there must be a better way.
13. Let Me Be Anonymous!
Why
do you need my personal information? Does it really matter in the big
scheme of everything that Google does? Why do you require my personal
information?
14. Stop Putting US Companies at a Disadvantage.
Canadian
and non-US companies can setup literally hundreds of AdSense publisher
accounts, yet US companies are tracked using tax ID numbers hence they
can only have one account.
15. Weigh Wikipedia Less.
Lets
face it, ANYONE can edit Wikipedia. The information read in Wikipedia
might be accurate one day and incorrect the next. Wikipedia is a nice
resource, but is not a reliable indicator of information. Please do not
use links from Wikipedia to indicate a sites worth. Wikipedia uses the
same model as Dmoz which has languished, volunteers can only do so much.
16. Make an RSS Search Engine.
Why
hasn't Google done this? I am baffled. The blog search engine is not an
RSS search engine, consider the power of being able to search ALL RSS
feeds. There are a number of small RSS search engine portals available
but there is not a clear leader, this is where Google could and should
be.
17. Stop Buying Companies.
Stop the purchasing, Google
is big enough already. Finish all the things that Google has started.
Keep in mind that while the archives on the Internet might last forever,
it is rare that companies retain power and clout for any length of
time. Remember Infoseek, or Altavista? Focus on your strengths.
While
my Google wish list might seem trivial, these are all things that
Google could do to earn their way back into my good graces.
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