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I believe it's necessary to repeat this point because of the constant churn of new users who are otherwise ignorant of Google's business model. I still hear peo

by aros 12y ago

I believe it's necessary to repeat this point because of the constant churn of new users who are otherwise ignorant of Google's business model. I still hear people say, "I'm so glad Google is nice enough to give us free apps!"

raldi 12y ago
I don't believe you actually ever heard anyone say that.
- etruong42 12y ago
  I've heard folks say things to that effect. "Google is awesome. They have the best search and email and smartphone software. For free! And they're fighting corrupt ISPs!" It's nice when Google does things that benefit a lot of people, but they're a for-profit corporation and not motivated primarily by altruism. People might not fully understand that or its significance and simply enjoy Google products, but I think it's useful knowledge.
  - raldi 12y ago
    But did you also hear them say, "...and they're doing it as a charity" and then get shocked when you revealed that Google is actually a for-profit organization that makes money via advertising? Because that's the part I'd find hard to believe.
    - etruong42 12y ago
      It's a nuanced point. aros said some people believe Google is "nice" which isn't wrong in my experience. I didn't interpret aros' words to mean that people explicitly deny Google is a for-profit corp nor espouse that it is a charity, but people have expressed warm fuzzies about Google. My takeaway was that many people produce warm feelings about an entity that doesn't necessarily reciprocate or find those warm feelings important in it of themselves. I personally like Google (so far). E.g. I could have seen them siding with ISPs, trying to dismantle net neutrality, and using their capital to stifle innovation keeping them at the top. But if sometime in the future, Google enacts policies that aren't so "nice", people may do well to avoid confusion by remembering that Google isn't inherently "nice", but they are inherently "for-profit".
- aros 12y ago
  Fortunately, what you believe doesn't dictate reality.

by aros 12y ago

raldi 12y ago

I don't believe you actually ever heard anyone say that.

etruong42 12y ago
I've heard folks say things to that effect. "Google is awesome. They have the best search and email and smartphone software. For free! And they're fighting corrupt ISPs!" It's nice when Google does things that benefit a lot of people, but they're a for-profit corporation and not motivated primarily by altruism. People might not fully understand that or its significance and simply enjoy Google products, but I think it's useful knowledge.
- raldi 12y ago
  But did you also hear them say, "...and they're doing it as a charity" and then get shocked when you revealed that Google is actually a for-profit organization that makes money via advertising? Because that's the part I'd find hard to believe.
  - etruong42 12y ago
    It's a nuanced point. aros said some people believe Google is "nice" which isn't wrong in my experience. I didn't interpret aros' words to mean that people explicitly deny Google is a for-profit corp nor espouse that it is a charity, but people have expressed warm fuzzies about Google. My takeaway was that many people produce warm feelings about an entity that doesn't necessarily reciprocate or find those warm feelings important in it of themselves. I personally like Google (so far). E.g. I could have seen them siding with ISPs, trying to dismantle net neutrality, and using their capital to stifle innovation keeping them at the top. But if sometime in the future, Google enacts policies that aren't so "nice", people may do well to avoid confusion by remembering that Google isn't inherently "nice", but they are inherently "for-profit".
aros 12y ago
Fortunately, what you believe doesn't dictate reality.