This really gets me.
Apparently Google has caught Bing stealing Google’s search results for certain kinds of queries that Bing doesn’t seem to handle well. It’s compelling reading. Having proved their point but established that its not illegal corporate Google writes:
Is it Cheating?
If it’s not illegal, is what Bing may be doing unfair, somehow cheating at the search game?
On the one hand, you could say it’s incredibly clever. Why not mine what people are selecting as the top results on Google as a signal? It’s kind of smart. Indeed, I’m pretty sure we’ve had various small services in the past that have offered for people to bookmark their top choices from various search engines.
Google doesn’t see it as clever.
“It’s cheating to me because we work incredibly hard and have done so for years but they just get there based on our hard work,” said Singhal. “I don’t know how else to call it but plain and simple cheating. Another analogy is that it’s like running a marathon and carrying someone else on your back, who jumps off just before the finish line.”
In particular, Google seems most concerned that the impact of mining user data on its site potentially pays off the most for Bing on long-tail searches, unique searches where Google feels it works especially hard to distinguish itself
Where Google feels it works especially hard to distinguish itself.
Flashback. Google CEO Eric Schmidt sits on Apple’s board. He learns of the iPhone. Eventually he recuses himself from parts of Apple’s board meetings because, he reveals, Google is also going to make a phone. Here’s a visual history of how Android has changed since those days when Eric Schmidt learned of Apple’s great secret that it worked especially hard to distinguish itself from the competition. Then Google copied the App Store with Marketplace and now its copying iBooks and funding developers to develop for the Marketplace because iOS’s App store is better. Google seem to be more than happy copying ideas Apple worked hard to develop for a competitive advantage only to find Google copying and giving them away as Google products.
Gee, Google must be really frustrated over this Bing thing.
