Tues News: 3/23 (Them’s Fightin’ Words Edition)

Michael Block | March 23rd, 2010

Are you asking for a CHALLENGE?

Let’s get ready to rumble! This edition of the Tues News brings you three big bouts between behemoths of business. Sometimes, fighting isn’t something relegated to boxers, MMA fighters and Jerry Springer Show guests; sometimes it spills over into the world of online marketing! Without further delay, let’s get to the fights. Let’s get going!

Google vs. China: In this corner, hailing from the US of A, holding the title for most important company of the last decade, wearing the rainbow trunks: Google! In this corner, hailing from the Middle Kingdom, holding the title of biggest country in the world, wearing the red trunks: China! This is truly a clash of the titans if ever there was one. The gist is that Google blamed a large scale hack attack on the Chinese government. It was an attempt, Google claims, to get access to the bevy of data that Google holds referencing the users of all of its products. Now, the gloves are off and Google isn’t playing China’s censorship game any more. This is a bold move and one that was long overdue from the “don’t be evil” company. One could argue that the search results never should have been censored in the first place. Unfortunately, though, China will likely block access to Google and the citizenry will be inundated with state sponsored news about the situation. Maybe, in the long term, companies taking action like this in China will have a positive effect, however, in the short run, I see this move hurting Google’s bottom line more than China’s. My prediction for the winner: China. [TechCrunch]
YouTube vs. Viacom: You may have noticed, but under the surface, this is just yet another Google fight, as YouTube is one of their biggest properties. YouTube is also one of their biggest headaches because companies–in this case, Viacom–have been suing them left and right over the improper use of their content. In this particularly dirty case, Viacom alleges hat YouTube has been promoting the theft of their television content. YouTube, on the other hand, argues that it has been policing to the best of its ability and that Viacom may be guilty of leaking its own content onto YouTube just as an excuse to sue! Whoa boy, this one isn’t going to end well! In my opinion, YouTube does an excellent job of policing its content; it does in a perfectly reactive manner. That is, if Viacom alleges that something infringes on a trademark, YouTube will often take down the video without even verifying if the claim was accurate. This seems like a desperate move on the part of Viacom to me, more like a money grab than a real lawsuit (although, what’s the difference, right?). My prediction for the winner: YouTube. [FastCompany]
FTC vs. Online Advertisers: The best part about online advertising for the advertisers is the ability to target users by their searches, their gender, their age, their behavior or even the content of their emails. Unfortunately, this is the worst part for those receiving ads. On the one hand, the ads they get are more likely to be useful, on the other hand, it’s incredibly creepy to get an email from your dad about an upcoming fishing trip only to see an ad for Long John Silver’s in the margin. Well, it seems that the government is finally taking notice and future legislation may be used to try and curb the widespread use of personal information. As an advertiser, this scares me a little bit; as an Internet user, though, I wouldn’t mind the ability to occasionally opt out of being watched. It’s a tough call but, more often than not, the money wins out and there is a whole lot of money in this sort of marketing. My prediction for the winner: draw. Online Advertisers will get to continue collecting and using data but users will get the ability to opt out of this sort of marketing. [MediaWeek]

As always, the Tues News would like to encourage its readers to try and settle things with civility in their day-to-day lives. Do as Google says, not what Google does, is what I mean. That saying will be a lot scarier and a lot truer when Google, Inc. runs for President in 2024; hey, maybe that would make a good campaign slogan! You heard it here first!

Thanks for stopping by. Read up on and keep up with the online world; keep reading Tues News! Catch ya later!

Also, thanks to Amanda for helping with this week’s links!

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