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Domain squatting has been around for a lot longer than google for domains has.

by blhack 17y ago

davidw 17y ago
So have many other unsavory industries; that doesn't mean that any one company needs to get into them. (Edit: I'm not arguing the OP's point that Google legitimizes the industry, simply that being in it is in some ways dubious. In case it wasn't clear.)
- blhack 17y ago
  What? I'm saying that google ending their adsense for domains program would not cause the domain squatting industry to collapse.
  - davidw 17y ago
    You're right, it wouldn't. That doesn't mean they have to be in it. It's a choice they're making.
joezydeco 17y ago
Yeah, I'm not convinced that Google departing this market would lead to it's demise. The void would just fill up with other advertisers chomping at the bit for that cash. That's probably why Google it still doing it.
- seldo 17y ago
  Saying "somebody else would sucker these chumps if I didn't" is not a moral defense for doing it. I'm not saying they're not within their rights to do so, I'm just saying it's not something a non-evil company would do.
seldo 17y ago
But Google is by far the most profitable way of monetizing websites, because Google is placing ads from legitimate, reputable businesses on websites that are essentially fraudulent. If Google got out of the business, then squatters would have to use some smaller and less-scrupulous network to monetize the ads. That company would probably give them less money, both because it had fewer advertisers and because it would know they had few other options, so it could charge them higher rates. As a result, a whole bunch of these domains, which are only very marginally profitable right now (their owners rely on volume) would become unprofitable, and the industry would shrink, leading to a net decrease in domain squatting and a net increase in the density of useful information on the web. If Google cares about information instead of money -- and they claim they do -- then getting out of domain squatting is an obvious choice.

Domain squatting has been around for a lot longer than google for domains has.

by blhack 17y ago

Domain squatting has been around for a lot longer than google for domains has.

So have many other unsavory industries; that doesn't mean that any one company needs to get into them. (Edit: I'm not arguing the OP's point that Google legitimizes the industry, simply that being in it is in some ways dubious. In case it wasn't clear.)

blhack 17y ago
What? I'm saying that google ending their adsense for domains program would not cause the domain squatting industry to collapse.
- davidw 17y ago
  You're right, it wouldn't. That doesn't mean they have to be in it. It's a choice they're making.

joezydeco 17y ago

Yeah, I'm not convinced that Google departing this market would lead to it's demise. The void would just fill up with other advertisers chomping at the bit for that cash. That's probably why Google it still doing it.

seldo 17y ago
Saying "somebody else would sucker these chumps if I didn't" is not a moral defense for doing it. I'm not saying they're not within their rights to do so, I'm just saying it's not something a non-evil company would do.

seldo 17y ago

But Google is by far the most profitable way of monetizing websites, because Google is placing ads from legitimate, reputable businesses on websites that are essentially fraudulent. If Google got out of the business, then squatters would have to use some smaller and less-scrupulous network to monetize the ads. That company would probably give them less money, both because it had fewer advertisers and because it would know they had few other options, so it could charge them higher rates. As a result, a whole bunch of these domains, which are only very marginally profitable right now (their owners rely on volume) would become unprofitable, and the industry would shrink, leading to a net decrease in domain squatting and a net increase in the density of useful information on the web. If Google cares about information instead of money -- and they claim they do -- then getting out of domain squatting is an obvious choice.