My Anti-Drug is Hemp
=v= If you use Google to search for something with the word "hemp" in it, you'll get a Sponsored Link at the top of the page for a lurid anti-drug website. I was just looking for a new pair of durable pants, and instead I got alarmist warnings about a hybrid of Reefer Madness and the Axis of Evil.
So, it's finally happened; Google has done something that perturbs me. It's not nearly as bad as what all the other search engines have perpetrated on us, and I'm actually quite impressed that they've been mostly flawless for such a long time, but I'm sorry to see them bellyflop like this.
Interestingly, a search for "poppies" doesn't trigger the anti-drug link, but it sure leads to a lot of sites devoted to opium...
I'm not sure of your concern here. Google isn't doing anything different here than with other sponsored links. A sponsored link, by definition, ties to keywords chosen by the sponsor. The (so-labeled) sponsored link on the top is no more or less of a sin than the boxed sponsored links on the right are -- only a difference of opinion. Google isn't responsible for the content of what they link to (thank heavens).
If I wanted to sponsor a link to the keyword "hemp" and simply tie it to my blog, that would be my (paid-for) privilege (and folks who felt they'd been misled would be justified in leaving me a few choice comments to that end).
Now, if Google covertly slipped a sponsored link into the main listings without any labeling of it (as most search engines do), then I'd agree with you fully.
Posted by *** Dave on May 8 2002 12:36
Plus, I think the sponsored links change; I just entered "hemp" in google, and the sponsored link was "hemp n' things" selling "handmade hemp and beaded jewelry." So, I'd say google is an equal-opportunity sponsored-link site...
Geoff
Posted by Geoff on May 8 2002 19:05
=v= Up to now, Google has been exercising uncannily good judgment about what their sponsors can and can't do, and no choice has interfered with or detracted from the user experience. Sure, I understand that it was the anti-drug people who chose the "hemp" keyword (while ignoring "poppies"), but the user experience on Google is mucked up as a result.
Posted by Jym on May 10 2002 13:50