Google Defends Its Use Of AP Content

Let’s pretend for a moment that you’re the newspaper industry. Your ranks are dwindling as even old pretty clueless about the online information economy. You’re even resorting to lash out at Google. Clearly, the failings of a centuries-old industry to adapt to a new communication paradigm are all Google’s fault. (the AP isn’t an authoritative source in the first place?)

Asked at the Newspaper Association of America conference in San Diego today if there’s a way to tweak the algorithm to lean towards “credible brands,” Schmidt explained: “We actually do that in the case of Google News. Google News uses a relatively fixed set of sources which are selected based on exactly the kind of trust that you’re describing.”

But general search is another matter: “We’ve been careful not to bias it using our own judgment of trust because we’re never sure if we get it right. So we use complicated ranking signals, as they’re called, to determine rank and relevance. And we change them periodically, which drives everybody crazy, as or algorithms get better. … The usual problem is you’ve got somebody who really is very trustworthy, but they’re not as well-known and they compete against people who are better known, and they don’t—in their view—get high enough ranking. We have not come up with a way to algorithmically handle that in a coherent way.”

And even if Google does solve that, it won’t necessarily favor news organizations: “We don’t want to do the kind of thing you’re describing unless we can do it across the board and for all categories of trusted institutions, not just newspapers.”

The bottom line? Love it or hate it, Google is how people find things on the Internet. If you don’t want Google to use/abuse (depending on your POV) your content, hello robots.txt. But if you want to take advantage of the traffic that Google can send your way, it’s time to stop griping and start adapting, newspapers.

What do you think: can newspapers ultimately adapt enough to find their place on the web, or is it too little, too late?

Suggest a Correction

Found an error or have a suggestion? Let us know and we'll review it.

Your Name *

Your Email *

Correction Details *

Submit Correction