Great Cringely article on Google

http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20060525.html

I like the line where he points out, as I have in the past, google is all beta.

Right, and he makes a good observation about the insular attitude that prevails in such tightly cloistered companies. You work there, you eat there, you socialize there, you are all "brilliant young things", so the outside world and their perceptions of your company/work fade into the background.

Yaaaaay!! GO TGREER. What a dude! Love it. :D

My post above was in support of tgreer's one immediately above.

Having now read in full the article tgreer linked to as he began this thread, I want to thank him for this. I now understand completely why my Google keyords shot up over a few days from just 30 pence to £2.75. I eventually closed down my campaigns and left it at that. It took only a click or two and my daily budget was expended.

Like Cringely's friend, I was not pushing something widely recognized as of any commercial value. Just wanting to attract members to a public info forum.

I could not agree more with Cringely's article. I have found Yahoo far more successful, though I would point out that it charges a minimum monthly payment of £20.00 no matter the success of your campaign. Nonethless, I have found my campaigns with Yahoo far more rewarding though I make nothing from my site at all. The reward comes in visitors to the site, many of whom see the ad but don't come to my site through clicking on it.

Thanks Tom, for posting a link to this enlightening article. It confirms my suspicions once and for all and supports the criticisms I've posted about Google in the past. I have a feeling that it's not gonna change until it is simply too late.

Incidentally, I once flew for a UK-based air freight company that adopted these bizarre business principles. I'll never forget the daily, mandatory, 'gatherings' in the Operations Room to sing songs and slap each other on the back. They never forgave me for refusing to give an address on how absolutely delighted I was to be working there. Needless to say, that company no longer exists. And it lost a couple of aircraft and crews before it went under - some considerable time after I walked into the owner's office and politely told him what to do with his very strange airline. Enthusiasm exceeded competence there, I believe. It's one thing to sing about how great you are and entirely another to come up with the goods in the long term.

Ah, well, the pendulum always swings back the other way given enough time.

Best wishes