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The Googlization of Everything

How one company is disrupting commerce, culture, and community

Some initial answers to my initial questions about Google Book Search and the settlmentNovember 6

Last week I asked Google's lawyers the following questions and received the following responses, which I have paraphrased: • Isn't this a tremendous anti-trust problem? Google has essentially set up a huge compulsory licensing system without the legislation that usually makes such systems work. One of the reasons it took a statutory move to create compulsory licensing for musical compositions was that Congress had to explicitly declare such a consortium and the organizations that run it (ASCAP, BMI) exempt from anti-trust laws. In addition, this proposed system excludes many publishers (such as university presses) and many authors (those not in the Authors' Guild). More importantly, this system excludes the other major search engines and the one competitor Google has in the digital book race: the Open Content Alliance. Don't they now have a very strong claim for an anti-trust action? The Google legal team did not see this agreement as structured in a way to actively exclude competitors from developing a competing service. The agreements with and about publishers, libraries, and the registry were all non-exclusive, as is the habit and tradition of Google’s approach to competition in the Web business. The registry will be started with Google funds, but it will be an idependent non-profit that may deal with the Open Content Alliance and other services without restriction from Google. Generally, Google’s lawyers don’t’ see this service as presenting a “typical anti

Seth on GBS settlementNovember 5

The Guardian:

... Amid all the reactions, an overall lesson should be how little can be determined by legalism, and how much remains unsettled as new technology causes shifts in markets and power. There's some value in enemy-of-my-enemy opposition, where the interests of an advertising near-monopoly are a counterweight to a content cartel. But battles between behemoth businesses should not be mistaken for friendship to libraries, authors or public interest.

BIG win for Google (and the rest of us): FCC Opens up White Spaces for BroadbandNovember 5

ZDNet.com:

The Federal Communications Commission has opened up so-called wireless white spaces–unused spectrum between broadcast channels–in a move the agency hopes paves the way for ‘Wi-Fi on Steroids’.

Google-Yahoo deal off!November 5

Barron’s Online :

Google Pulls Out Of Yahoo Deal; Will MSFT Re-Bid? Posted by Eric Savitz Google (GOOG) announced in a blog post this morning that it is pulling out of its advertising outsourcing agreement with Yahoo (YHOO). The company said the decision reflects opposition to the deal by both regulators and customers. In a post by David Drummond, SVP-Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer, wrote that “after four months of review, including discussions of various possible changes to the agreement, it’s clear that government regulators and some advertisers continue to have concerns about the agreement. Pressing ahead risked not only a protracted legal battle but also damage to relationships with valued partners. That wouldn’t have been in the long-term interests of Google or our users, so we have decided to end the agreement.” ...

Dolly Parton vs. Google over white spaceNovember 3

NYTimes.com:

SAN FRANCISCO — Tuesday marks the end of a battle that has lasted for more than two years, with each side predicting apocalyptic consequences should it lose. Not the fight for the presidency — the one pitting Google against Dolly Parton. The titan of Silicon Valley and the queen of country are two of the many combatants in a high-tech dispute over precious slices of the nation’s airwaves. The issue comes to a head on Election Day, when the Federal Communications Commission votes on a proposal to make a disputed chunk of radio spectrum available for public use. Google, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and other technology companies say the spectrum could be used by a whole new array of Internet-connected wireless gadgets. They say freeing it up would encourage innovation and investment in much the same way that the spread of Wi-Fi technology has. (This would generate more business for tech companies.) But a coalition of old-guard media — from television networks to Broadway producers — is objecting to the proposal, saying it needs a closer look. The opponents argue that signals sent over those frequencies could interfere with broadcasts and wireless microphones at live productions. The measure appears likely to pass, though its opponents have mounted a spirite