DOJ May One Day Try to Break Up Google

In chapter eight John Battelle's incredible book, right. The US government Big Brother that many industries - from retailing to media to advertisers and more - fear. This trepidation isn't rooted really in Google's web search prowess, but more in its increasingly far-reaching tentacles. This fear only rises as Google moves into new industries beyond its core. Notably these include online and book and the rumors are correct. As Google launches new services and begins to disrupt other industries (almost always with the consumer in mind), it will succeed wildly in some arenas and fail in others. However, where it succeeds Google will become the most powerful intermediary on the planet. Every business - including airlines, advertisers, media companies, retailers and more - will rise or fall depending on how they are positioned on Google's services. As this power (which to some degree already is present) gets larger, Google will be tempted to give its paying customers all kinds of breaks. The question is will they be able to resist this urge as competitors pour on the heat. Let's look at a conceivable example of how a bigger Google might lead to unfair competition. Let's say you're a book publisher. Google's Froogle where consumers can buy the book. This doesn't sound unfair so far. However, imagine Google sweetens the deal and gives you special incentives if you pull out of MSN Shopping. What might this include? Perhaps they will offer radio airtime or print ad space. Or, maybe they will happily feature your latest CNN PR hit right on the Google Video home page. Think this won't happen? Think again. With power comes corruption. Judge Penfield Jackson's. And if or when this happens, then it could have a chilling effect on all of the industries that thrive on the search economy - including PR and marketing. Senior Vice President with Micro Persuasion weblog, which tracks how blogs and participatory journalism are changing the public relations practice.