Is Google Part of the Big Media

Years ago, when radio broadcasting was just starting out, Clear Channel, came in and swooped everyone out. They bought all the little radio people and decided to run localized radio shows halfway across the country. Years later, the same thing happened with cable TV. This time it was a company called Viacom. They decided to bundle the consumers’ TV channels together so if one wanted to get HBO, one would have to subscribe to ten other channels that one is not interested in. Clear Channel and Viacom are both part of the Big Media.

In our generation, the newest form of communication is the online world–the Internet. As everyone knows, Google is the most powerful search engine. It also has Gmail, Google Ad Words, Google Docs, etc. It seems to have everything.

Not only does it have everything, “Google knows where you live” according to John Battelle’s The Search. Type in one’s phone number and you’ll have access to their address and other sensitive information. What I want to know is.. is Google now part of the Big Media? They control what we see online. Are they regulated? No. I’m surprised how it has gotten this far and no one is saying anything. What if Google were to screen our search results? They are all too powerful and we are all too dependent on Google. I am in Google all day at work, searching for contact information for certain people in the government industry. That’s how I get speakers for my events. I am able, with no prior connection to any of these people, to get an office telephone number, an e-mail address, even a mobile phone.

Have you Googled yourself recently? What comes up? Probably your social media web site profiles, including your work information. I try to be very careful what I post online with my name. I’m a very private person and I don’t want any sensitive information floating in cyberspace.

Everything is open in Google. Everything is fair game. But is it really? Who does Google answer to? Google’s motto is “Do no evil.” But how do we know it really is doing no evil? How can we trust this giant? Should we trust Google to do everything for the betterment of the public? According to Battelle, Google’s privacy policy shares our personal information with the law if they are “required by law or have a good faith belief that access, preservation or disclosure of such information is reasonably necessary to protect the rights, property or safety of Google, its users or to the public.” Where does “good faith” start and end? And to protect the rights of Google? Up to what extent or situation severity?

I don’t have the answers to these questions. It would be hard to regulate Google as it is not restricted to the United States alone. Who do you think should regulate Google and the other search engines? Do you think this is going to happen anytime soon? Or at all? It seems a pretty impossible feat.