Google the 800 Pound Gorilla

Title: Google the 800 Pound Gorilla

            Ever ponder the question if one rules the world can that person still continue to be moral or does the idea of power enthuse more power especially where stockholders and profits are concerned.  “Power [seems to] corrupt” (Clemons, 2012).  Does Enron scandal come to mind?  Enron was a company in early 2000 that because of leadership’s greed “artificially increased profits and hid losses and debts…[and then] swiftly collapsed, taking with it the fortunes and retirement savings of thousands of employees” (New York Times, 2006). “Powerful firms have more opportunities for maximizing profits and shareholder wealth than smaller firms” (Clemons, 2012).  Google business is different than Enron but the bottom line is both companies have to report to stockholders.    

Who or what is Google?  Or the real question to ask who has not heard of Google?

            Google started from humble beginnings.  “Google began in January 1996 as a research project by Larry Page and Sergey Brin when they were both PhD students at Stanford University in Stanford, California.  The first funding for Google was an August 1998 contribution of US $100,000 from Andy Bechtolsheim by 2012 Google hit $50 billion in revenue” (Statistic Brain Institute, 2015).  In the author’s opinion, Google today is an 800 pound gorilla.  Google  “collects data from millions of its account every day…and owns: the top-ranked search portal, popular e-mail service, widely-used customizable home page, leading fee reader, top-ranked feed management system, top-ranked analytics product, largest distributed ad network, most widely-distributed traffic monitoring toolbar, and largest video content hosting site” (Reed College of Media, 2015).  The paradox in Google’s case is Google also provides one of the most power web analytics tools free.  So is there an ethical problem here?  Well, first one needs to understand ow important is Web analytics to businesses?

Web Analytics

            “Web analytics is the process of analyzing the behavior of visitors to a Web site.  The use of Web analytics enables a business to attract more visitors, retain or attract new customers for good or service or to increase the dollar volume each person spends” (Reed College of Media, 2015). Web

Google's Annual Search Statistics

analytics is extremely important to the bottom-line.  “Understanding Web Analytics and search engine optimization (SEO) is of great use in the analysis and evaluation of marketing and sales campaigns [as well]” (Reed College of Media, 2015).  Where do most people search for products or services today - online?          

            More than five billion people use Google to search every day (See Chart). “While Web Analytics tools are certainly very powerful, understanding visitor behavior is as much a function of qualitatively determining interests and intent as it is quantifying clicks from page to page” (Peterson, 2008).  Knowing behavior, site owners can design websites to increase engagement and consequently increase revenue.  Google’s free analytical tool gives a site owner the ability to measure visitor behavior, determine interest, and clicks. 

Google’s Power

            “Google has the power to do almost anything it wants” (Clemons, 2012).  In 2012 Google announced changes to its privacy policy.  Google’s “privacy policy went beyond anything the world had seen before, in which Google asserts the right to  combine all the information it can obtain from any sources, including those never authorized by the provider, like the sender of email to a Gmail account” (Clemons 2012).  Basically, Google owns a site visitor search history, and if a person using an Android device knows about a person’s activity in that account.  Google Analytics allows site owners to understand Web visitor (customer) behavior on their sites. This is actually good for site owners to obtain this information.  “Using this information [and daily timeline] brands can join users who seek answers to their uniquely personal questions and explore their uniquely personal curiosities and interests…it’s an efficient way to connect with many people in highly relevant and personal ways. You can deliver the right message at the right time, accompanying and assisting someone in her everyday life, rather than broadcasting a generic ad and hoping she’ll pay attention to it” (deFreites, 2013).   But is this really ethical given “Google account holders cannot opt out of the new policy” (Washington Post, 2012)?

            Another issue with Google to knowing all is that site owners must establish an account with Google in order to use its powerful free analytics.  According to some Google’s ethics include that  “a) people want to know your deviances or b) [just do not do]  “bad” things” …At base Google is failing to recognize its position in a constellation of power structures — a constellation (call it the State, capital, Empire) that will crush anything that threatens it, while assimilating that which doesn’t” (Lennard, 2013).  Are these harsh words for powerhouse like Google?

             Clemons writes that the “governance at Google is broken and apparently will remain broken” because three people own 66 percent of the voting shares (Clemons, 2012). Google does have an Ethics and Compliance team that works “with outside ethics counsel to ensure compliance with all relevant political laws and the associated filings and reports.” And, Google does have a Code of Conduct.  The Conclusion is stated below:

IV. Conclusion

We rely on one another’s good judgment to uphold a high standard of integrity for ourselves and our company. We expect all Board members and employees to be guided by both the letter and the spirit of this Code.

Adopted October 2, 2015 (Google.com, 2015

            The author is concerned with Google collect data from millions of account holder and that Google intrudes on their privacy.  Additionally, the author believes many of these people have no idea that this information is being collected.    As a marketer, the author found the GA tool most helpful and really sees the benefits of such a tool especially for small to medium sized companies.  The data collected is generalized and not specific as to names making the use just a bit more acceptable. Google does have transparency dashboards so users can know what information is being collected. But should a person be concerned?  Truly, “When an all-powerful company acts honorably, then regulation can be done without a heavy hand, and without being especially intrusive” (Clemons, 2012).  If companies cannot act responsibly then government needs to be involved.   Hopefully, Google will stick to its core mantra of “don’t be evil.” As Google states: “At the core of this [Google.com, 2015] code is the mantra, “don’t be evil.” Googlers generally apply those words to how we serve our users. But it’s also about doing the right thing more generally—following the law, acting honorably and treating each other with respect” (Google.com, 2015).   Maybe this author is naïve but with this as the mantra, and as a marketer, the author finds the tools useful and intend to use them.

References:

Clemons, E. (2012).  “Say it ain’t so, Joe, again, and again, and again”: A legacy of continued bad behavior at Google.  Retrieved November 28, 2015 from:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/google-privacy-issues/

deFreites, C. (2013).  The meaning of search: How it shapes our lives and builds brands. Retrieved October 25, 2015 from: https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/meaning-of-search.html

Google.com (2015).  Code of Conduct.  Retrieved November 28, 2015 from: https://investor.google.com/corporate/google-code-of-conduct.html

Lennard, N. (2013).  The dangerous ethics behind Google’s transparency claims.  Retrieved November 24, 2015 from: http://www.salon.com/2013/06/11/the_dangerous_ethics_behind_googles_transparency_claims/

Peterson, E.T. (2008). The voice of customer: Qualitative data as a critical input to Web site optimization. ForeSee Results.

Reed College of Media. (2015).  Lesson 1: Intro to Web Analytics.  Retrieved November 28, 2015 from:  https://ecampus.wvu.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_2558932_1&course_id=_51583_1&framesetWrapped=true

Reed College of Media (2015).  Lesson 6:  Exploring Google Analytics.  Retrieved November 28, 2015 from: https://ecampus.wvu.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/displayLearningUnit?course_id=_51583_1&content_id=_2558942_1&framesetWrapped=true

Statistic Brain Research Institute. (2015).  Google Official Resource.  Retrieved November 28, 2015 from: http://www.statisticbrain.com/google-searches/

New York Times (2006).  10 Enron players: where they landed after the fall.  Retrieved November 28, 2015 from: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/29/business/businessspecial3/29profiles.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0