Is Google Advertising Evil? - 11 April 2006

What kind of company is Google? Ask most people this question and the answer you’ll likely get is “search.” While it is true that Google is a company focused on search, they don’t survive through search. Instead, like all companies, they are judged on their profits. And as John Gruber points out, they don’t profit from search, they profit by selling advertisements. This in turn makes Google an advertising company. That’s more profound than you might suspect.