I just had this crazy idea: Imagine a future when websites will be an even more important part of our daily lives and of business.

Can you imagine banning (without a reason/if the webmaster didn't hurt their policy) becoming illegal for search engines and them getting sued over it? (ok then, there'd be the next problem, because companies are already breaking laws if the profit/cost ratio is still right for them..)

Or at least some kind of mechanism/law that makes it harder for them to ban sites without a reason, etc.? I know this sounds kinda far-fetched, but I'm wondering if something like that might happen some time in the future if e-commerce sites (virtual stores?;)) become way more important in business - it's kind of crazy if you think about the fact that a single company would be able to make or break almost any existing business in a second

I like the idea of being able to sue Google for dropping your SERPs position

Same here.. I would have a case right now as a matter of fact... not happy to have to say that.

NewKid you make ma laugh.
You always have something on your mind hay.

But no I imagine in 10 years or so when all main stream business is done on the web it will.

The new web and walk phones from apple using safari already make it possible to view the entire internet from anywhere - the bus, the train, the car or just walking down the street, without the site having to be mobile compatible.

This will just become main stream in a few years then yeah I imagine Google will be regulated like the phone companies currently are.

It'll happen in the EU first where it already has been for off-line actions. The EU especially which is very consumer biased will do what it does to every other business give it a choice to do it voluntarily or it'll constantly fine them till they do.

So yeah I totally agree. I reckon it will be the same for any competiors at the time as well.

Jaz

Interesting thought, NewKid. I can see that happening if/when search engines are officially recognized as commodities and become regulated. Or federalized into a governing agency.

This could happen if all countries agree to 3.. (or 2) major search engines: Google and Yahoo (or will it be Yahoo-MSN, MSN-Yahoo, or Moo?).

Then, because it's so regulated, there can be rules as to who should rank, why they rank, arbitration and all that. Rules upon rules to ensure a fair, balanced way to rank. Then - if a site does all of that and play by the rules and arbitrarily drop in rank, they can sue Google and the other engines.

On the other hand, leftist liberals right now would probably love to bring some kind of litigation against Google to argue that their business suffered because of lower rankings. Come of think of it, wasn't that the case with some company called Kindercare? Or something like that...

To me, that whole premise is absurd since no website has a right to rank. No matter how "relevant" the site owner thinks, that person does NOT have a right to rank in search results. If you dont have a right to rank in search results, then you certainly don't have a right to sue.

But then again this country loves to sue and blame someone else. Everyone's a victim here.

No I agree cryptblade but there is no way to say that certain sites don't get preferential treatment. What if G wanted to populate the book searches with G books listings. Who knows when a future G leadership gets in.

What if they unfairly raised the price of PPC or put a high "tax/VAT" on it?

Thats the sort of things the EU regulates. It doesn't regulate business technology wise, just price and consumer fairness.

I mean UK citizens at the moment are getting charged £7000-£9000 for using their mobiles to download games abroad and not realizing until they get back from their holiday. EU is now stampping down on them hard. £5 per megabyte just incase you wonder how they get away with it abroad. 3p when in the UK - network dependant.

They would make it the same for G, and rightly so IMO.

Jaza

I think it's a quagmire, but the flow of things seem to be moving in that direction.

...I bet Google actually have strategists mapping out such a scenario.

If it comes down to this, then yes, a degree of regulation would be necessary. But as I maintain (from another thread about Google and regulation), that would mean that there can ONLY be 1 or 2 major engines. This means they would be regulated and basically, anointed to be the gatekeepers of Internet usuage - in so far as information consumption is concerned.

Now just to tickle the mind even more, if this becomes the scenario, does it mean all media portals are liable for providing a level playground for business marketing/advertising?

This is based strictly from a litigation point of view. Let's say that regulation is in place and search engines are commoditized and turned into a platform for conducting business. Does this also open up litigation for other media platforms that allow marketing and advertising to be sued? I think so - and could make a good case for it.

This could open things up for TV networks, cable networks, newspapers and other media to be liable to marketers/advertisers.

This scenario COULD happen, also, if search engines continue to grow into an integrated media portal - eventually integrating television. I suspect that's already the intended movement behind the scenes as companies not yet known or well known are working on more technology to incorporate search engines with television and television with the Internet.

I shall quote Huxley - brave new world....

I totally agree but I don't think that only 1 or 2 will be allowed can you explain why you think this?

I know I'm going on about mobile phones but it's because they are being regulated again soon due to the example above in the EU. But there are a lot more than 1 or 2 phone companies and they all get regulated.

liable for providing a level playground for business marketing/advertising?
I would say yes.
Again the mobile phone companies have set a precedence in the EU and there is no reason why SE's will be treated differently as they fall under EU jurisdiction for businesses in any EU country.

The UK phone companies have been told/will be soon to reduce prices on downloads by a minimum of 75% abroad. If they don't follow they will get fined, knowing the EU millions every time they abuse it.

I do think this will differ depending where you are in the world and it's governing body(s). Maybe more in the US than Europe.
Maybe less in Asia?

TV's especially in the UK as we already have integrated internet PC tv's that you can buy from main stream dealers at cheap prices.

You can then switch between TV and internet via a button and surf the net on a 60" TV set by default. But I do agree this will be come far more integrated than it is at the mo.

Then think about the future web 3.0?

Jaza

wow, I didnt expect so many people to care about this thread - I thought it might not even get a reply, at all lol. Actually, when I was thinking about this I was thinking way further into the future than just a decade (which is not to say that it can't happen earlier).

I think it'll be interesting to watch though, because certain companies (or countries..) are only allowed to permit a certain amount of pollutants (I think this stuff was called the emmission trade system or something), but companies often choose to just say 'fvck it let's pollute the environment as we lose less money if we just pay the fines/get sued'...the same thing could happen with Google getting sued

EDIT: oh yeah..jazajay, guess in which european country it'll happen first ;) What was that quote from that person who said "everybody does what they do best, us Americans invented the web, the Germans bureaucrize (exp?!) it"?lol

O yeah people would go to the streets if the EU is mentioned in Britain we don't even have the euro yet. I personally think it's good.

The regulations they bring in happen quickly a lot quicker than if the UK gov do it. But it would be nice to see to be honest just as a safe guard.

The one thing about the EU is it always customer focused not that much corruption towards big business. Businesses follow suit of they get sued plain and simple. But their rules are also fair to businesses it tends to be price and environment based. Wouldn't you agree? As you live with the EU regulations a lot more than I do.

Which I personally think would be good for the engines in Europe as Europe is so about free trade and not about regulating business to be equal. Just to stop one business from dominating a particular sector as then there is no competition and the consumer suffers.

Thats just my experience of the EU and UK business regulations. Is that the same in Germany?

I'm interested to know how are bussiness regulated in the states or Asia?
As any regulation on the Engines would be from precedence in other business right?

Edit: When I say bussiness being equal I mean giving them the same chance not with their algo's being the same.

Jaz

To be honest, I'm not quite sure how business are regulated in Germany, I just know that we're big into bureaucracy :-)

I totally agree but I don't think that only 1 or 2 will be allowed can you explain why you think this?

Explain? Not really. It was an arbitrary number. Still playing scenarios and what ifs here so... conjecture even.

But, I do assume that Yahoo and MSN will become one and it shall be called MOO.


TV's especially in the UK as we already have integrated internet PC tv's that you can buy from main stream dealers at cheap prices.

You can then switch between TV and internet via a button and surf the net on a 60" TV set by default. But I do agree this will be come far more integrated than it is at the mo.

My idea of TV & Internet (computer) integration is not technology driven but user driven. Take for instance the PDA and mobile phone. Honestly, I dont think too many people even 10 years ago saw the fusion of the PDA and the mobile phone. Heck in 1997-1998, the cellphones were still clunky by today's comparisons (and they were sleek compared to cellphones a decade earlier then). 1997-1998, PDAs were still clunky with pretty limited abilities. Storage was a nightmare - and I still have a Palm VII that ran on regular batteries!

But, the way that consumers consume media will drive technology companies to build gadgets and systems to move towards better integration.

You are set on them becoming Moo aren't you :D

Explain? Not really. It was an arbitrary number. Still playing scenarios and what ifs here so... conjecture even.
O he he I thought their must have been some US law I was unaware of :D

I totally agree about the TV/internet I think that my example shows that this is starting to be the case. People want to surf the net from the comfort of their sofa rather than booting their computer up. I know if I didn't have to have to cartoons on for the kids in the morning I would.

But a 60" internet screen does let you see the Google ads a lot clearer and you take more note of them than if you view the same listing on a computer, it's good for people with bad eyesight, which is also good for Google CTR.

But I totally agree that it will becoming more integrated until it's just 1 entity. But by that point regulation IMO would have kicked in. As a lot more people will be dealing with it a lot more.

I can imagine Google taking advantage of the first ads to be broadcast into your dreams while you sleep as well in about 50 years :D

Jaz

First, you need to understand that search engines are automated. They are not manual in any case.

Their ranking algorithm can fall to a shady trick played by your competitor.

In case your website got penalized without any reason, then you should try to hire some SEO specialist, who can help you move out of this Google mess.

However, I would love to see Google banned on Google one day ;)

First, you need to understand that search engines are automated. They are not manual in any case.

Their ranking algorithm can fall to a shady trick played by your competitor.

In case your website got penalized without any reason, then you should try to hire some SEO specialist, who can help you move out of this Google mess.

However, I would love to see Google banned on Google one day ;)

Google can and does do human interventions

They are not manual in any case.

Believe it or not, they are:
http://www.google.com/support/jobs/bin/search.py?query=Quality+Rater

Do you have any idea how frequently this is happening AussieWebmaster?

I would assume that they focus on the most frequently searched terms (sort of like let's concentrate our resources for handedits on the 10% of keywords that are about 90% of all searches - or rather the 0,01% of keywords that make up (less than 90%))?

..and don't care much about the kind of terms that many of us private webmasters are optimizing for? or do they?

or do they have enough resources to focus their hand-edits on checking strange traffic spikes, etc.?