No Evil vs You Evil

Since it's inception, google has been the darling of media and job seekers. For most, it’s a dream come true to get recruited to google. Perks range from making a difference in the world to great food.

Larry & Serge changed the world through search and did it with style and Ethics. “No Evil” has been the mantra for Google from it inception. Searches were impartial, even ads were sorted based on popularity. It truly was the new ethical world, with users driving it.

Ethics is a concept in real world. So is it on the web. In a true democratic system where anyone can bid for any word, companies started bidding for rivals taglines. It was easy for companies to show the ads when user is searching for competitor. Google was not doing anything intentionally, keywords were sold on an open auction, ads were clearly demarcated. “No Evil” prevailed within the company’s boundary.

The biggest challenge came with the launch of gmail. Google searched through mails to show ads relating to the content and many viewed it as a breach of privacy. Google again stood firm. They argued that any mail provider would have to ‘read through’ the mail to show it on screen. Google was not trying to understand the message; search was merely for the keywords. Millions of users agreed. After all, it was our “No Evil” company.

Eric Schmdit, CEO of google has defined 'Evil' on different occasions. Most of them reflect the generic idea that one mans ‘Evil’ can be good to someone else. He jokingly once mentioned that Evil is what Sergey defines as evil.

As an admirer of google, this definition was good enough for me. It changed when google started its video section and then later acquired Youtube. In principle, google is just a facilitator. Giving server space for users to store and share the videos. But the no of patented videos stored on these sites are so huge that the user will not have to walk over (or log on) to the video library or subscribe for the Channels on TV. Movies to Match highlights are readily available.

It may be wonderful for a user but the fact remains that people who actually put in their money and effort in creating the originals are deprived of their deserved returns. It indeed is shocking that a company which is a synonym for creativity in the internet world is failing their creativity. That in my opinion brings down the ethical standards of google to those guys who make and distribute pirated videos.

I hope Google will be “No Evil” again one day. For a company which stood up against the odds and changed the world, this is a small task. That is, if they really want to do it.