My beef with this move is aligned with Andrew’s. The Google brand was built on the back of a great product combined with rampant word-of-mouth, PR and government support. They are now shrewdly using the monopolistic leverage they built through the Do No Evil campaign (remember the founder’s original disdain at the concept of getting paid for clicks – the platform lifted from Overture that they are often credited for?) to generate profits and take advantage of their one great asset, free traffic.

Internet users now need to understand that they are dealing not with the old Google, but with the new Google – the one that no longer simply makes money when you click, but is selling your information directly to advertisers. The challenge to us as online service providers is to enhance our services and value we provide to our users and readers. In doing that we have the opportunity to make it clear to the public that the company they trust to organize and PRIORITIZE the world’s online content to them, is not the company best suited to determine the right mortgage (or TV, insurance plan, vacation package) for their situation. I think we’re up to the challenge.

But transparency to real products actually doesn’t really help the consumer out in the long run, there is no customer profile given (no credit pulled or any of the other factors that are required to underwrite a consumer)…so really it gives no advantage to the consumer whatsoever other than more confusion and false hope.