4 ms·

Re-posting this as a top-level comment: The author's point about how Google Shopping is an ad is really not worthwhile. When Google introduced shopping it was

by asr 9y ago

Re-posting this as a top-level comment: The author's point about how Google Shopping is an ad is really not worthwhile. When Google introduced shopping it was a search product, not an ad. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Shopping#Change_to_paid_listings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Shopping#Change_to_paid... The investigation was concerned with Google's introduction and promotion of Google Shopping in its search results, not with whether it's a problem for Google to show product listing ads.

Ajedi32 9y ago
So would this mean that showing image results in Google's main search page is also against EU rules, since "Google Images" (images.google.com) is also a "search product" that Google is promoting over its competitors like Bing (which also offers image search capabilities)?
- julienfr112 9y ago
  Why not. Google Search is financing and providing users to Google Map. How could you be competitive in the map market when you have a giant with limitless ressource ? See street view, how could you finance that ? WHat is the commercial viability of such a product ?
  - RestlessMind 9y ago
    Why should we consider a separate "map market"? For consumers, there might just be an "information market. Sometimes an image would be the right form of information; sometimes a map; sometimes a video etc. Trying to cleave out different verticals from a search engine would be a major disadvantage to consumers.
    - kuschku 9y ago
      I’ve written this in another comment before, but it explains why we should separate them: > I live in a city where Google Maps has, until one month ago, had basically no traffic data, satellite imagery was from 2004, and even today still supports no transit. > Here maps has up-to-date imagery of highest quality, has traffic and transit data. > Yet, many people use Google Maps, even if that provides worse results, sends them on roads that don’t exist anymore, etc. > When one recommends they switch, they say "but Google Maps is preinstalled, installing Here Maps would be so much effort, and it doesn’t work with Ok Google". Do you think this is an advantage to consumers, that they end up with the worse product?

by asr 9y ago

Ajedi32 9y ago

So would this mean that showing image results in Google's main search page is also against EU rules, since "Google Images" (images.google.com) is also a "search product" that Google is promoting over its competitors like Bing (which also offers image search capabilities)?

julienfr112 9y ago
Why not. Google Search is financing and providing users to Google Map. How could you be competitive in the map market when you have a giant with limitless ressource ? See street view, how could you finance that ? WHat is the commercial viability of such a product ?
- RestlessMind 9y ago
  Why should we consider a separate "map market"? For consumers, there might just be an "information market. Sometimes an image would be the right form of information; sometimes a map; sometimes a video etc. Trying to cleave out different verticals from a search engine would be a major disadvantage to consumers.
  - kuschku 9y ago
    I’ve written this in another comment before, but it explains why we should separate them: > I live in a city where Google Maps has, until one month ago, had basically no traffic data, satellite imagery was from 2004, and even today still supports no transit. > Here maps has up-to-date imagery of highest quality, has traffic and transit data. > Yet, many people use Google Maps, even if that provides worse results, sends them on roads that don’t exist anymore, etc. > When one recommends they switch, they say "but Google Maps is preinstalled, installing Here Maps would be so much effort, and it doesn’t work with Ok Google". Do you think this is an advantage to consumers, that they end up with the worse product?