Google AdSense ad points to Toolbar with Autolink Feature!

Grok Headline matches for Google AdSense ad points to Toolbar with Autolink Feature!

Google Toolbar AutoLink

Google Toolbar AutoLink 03/14/2005 04:24 PM

I'm a bit wary about throwing myself in the middle of the whole Google Toolbar AutoLink business (Dan Gillmor has a good summary and lots of trackbacks to opinions, pro and con), but I'm sort of dumbfounded that so many people are so vehemently against it...at least for the reasons being given. The three main points I've heard articulated by those opposed to the feature are:

1. Browsers and toolbars should not modify the content or layout of Web pages...they should render them only as stored on the Web server.

2. Microsoft tried to do this with Smart Tags in Windows XP and everyone hated it so why are we willing to give Google a pass with a similar feature?

3. Google can unfairly use their growing clout to exploit AutoLink users.

I'll address the second point first because it's sort of beside the point and not an argument at all. One of the big reasons why people were so upset about Smart Tags is that Smart Tags were on by default in early preview releases of IE. The browser was automatically rewriting every single page you loaded, adding links here and there. I agree that this sucks (although users may become used to things like this in the future and not think it's such a big deal), but AutoLink is not on by default. It's optional...you have to specifically push a button to make something happen.

But the main reason people seem to be up in arms about AutoLink is that Google is modifying the content and display of other people's content and that browsers and toolbars should not be allowed to do that. Aside from the first part of that statement being factually incorrect (more on that below), browsers and toolbars already modify other people's content and no one really complains about it. In fact, people love it:

• Firefox, Safari, Google Toolbar, IE, and several other browsers/toolbars all give end users the option to block JavaScript popups, which typically contain ads. This very much goes against the intention of the content provider and is a clear example of software that modifies a site from how it was intended to be displayed. But users love it so browser/toolbar makers include the feature.
• Browsers allow users to use custom stylesheets when browsing sites, turn off JavaScript on pages, and browse without viewing images or other multimedia files.
• There are tons of bookmarklets and browser extensions that let people modify the page they're viewing in interesting ways (this one inserts links to Feedster on NY Times and WaPo article pages).
• Since the early days of the web right on up to the present, browsers have purposely misrendered badly written HTML so that people could view the pages instead of getting junk or a blank page.

All of these features break the supposedly cardinal sin of "thou shalt not modify the content providers content from the way it was intended by them to be viewed" and I don't hear anyone complaining about it. The fact is, once a user downloads a copy of a content provider's web page from their server, the page becomes just that, a copy. As a user, I should be able to use whatever software is available to me to manipulate, modify, or otherwise remix that copy which I've downloaded for my own personal use. If I can, for my own personal use, photocopy magazine articles, rip my CDs to mp3, make backup copies of my DVDs, and scribble in the margins of books, surely I can do the same with copies of web pages I've downloaded.

Now, if you're against AutoLink because you think Google is becoming too big, they're evil, they're abusing their power, or they bought another blog company instead of yours, then that's fine. Just be up front about why you're upset. It's a trust issue. Do you trust Google's software to do what it says its going to do and not take advantage of you? If the answer is no, don't use it. But if you're saying that Google should not provide this feature at all and that consenting adults in the privacy of their own homes can't choose to use the feature themselves, I don't think that's a good deal for the users. As content providers, let's not try and reach into our readers' computers and dictate what they can or can't do with the copies of our content that they've downloaded for their personal use...let's leave that sort of wishful thinking to the nutballs in Hollywood.

Google Toolbar Introduces Browse By Name
Feature

Google Toolbar Introduces Browse By Name
Feature 07/16/2004 01:16 PM
Source: Search Engine Guide - Though I must admit that thus far, the feature seems to work pretty well, the question of whether or not people will use Browse By Name once the novelty wears off remains. After all, does...

Google Adds Browse By Name Feature to
Toolbar

Google Adds Browse By Name Feature to
Toolbar 07/16/2004 10:02 PM
The Google Toolbar ( http://toolbar.google.com ) has a new feature: Browse by Name. Browse by Name allows you to type words into the Internet Explorer address bar and get relevant...

New Google Toolbar Feature Rekindles the
Old SmartTag Debate

New Google Toolbar Feature Rekindles the
Old SmartTag Debate 03/14/2005 05:16 PM
The AutoLink feature of the new beta Google toolbar, threatens to refire the incendiary debate over SmartTags.

I put <a
href="https://www.google.com/adsense/hom
e">Google Adsense</a>

I put <a
href="https://www.google.com/adsense/hom
e">Google Adsense</a> 10/30/2003 08:17 PM
I put <a href="https://www.google.com/adsense/home">Google Adsense</a> on <a href="http://easytopicmaps.com/">Easy Topic Maps</a> two weeks ago. There have been 1,324 impressions and 40 clickthroughs (about 3 by myself), which gives an impressive average clickthrough rate of 3.0% (I'm not <a href="http://unicast.org/archives/000866.html">supposed</a> to say...

Google Gets a Taste of It's Own Autolink
Medicine

Google Gets a Taste of It's Own Autolink
Medicine 03/17/2005 03:55 AM

Google autolink debate frenzy

Google autolink debate frenzy 03/14/2005 05:45 PM
I'm too mired in book work to offer much besides pointers, but here are pointers galore on the important controversy over the Google toolbar Autolink feature -- in which Google offers to overlay its own links to certain types of information that it finds on everyone else's Web pages. In 2001 Microsoft proposed putting something similar right into its Internet Explorer browser, and Walt Mossberg and many others blew the whistle on it. Links should be considered part of the vocabulary of Web content; inserting links is tantamount to tampering with the content.

This time it's been Dave Winer who's been blowing the whistle insistently. Here's Dave's case against Autolink. The opposite point of view -- it's a tool, I should be able to use any tools I want once content lands on my screen! -- is smartly summarized by Cory Doctorow here and here. Paul Boutin in Slate, and Tim Bray, also offer good, careful perspectives.

Me, I think the issue is fundamentally political more than technical; Google is now powerful enough that it needs to learn to tread more lightly in areas like this. My hunch is the Google-ites, encapsulated in their "let's bring all the world's information to light!" mission, simply had no idea what an ethical morass they have plopped themselves into. If the past is any indication, they're nimble enough to step out.

Yahoo's Anti-Spy toolbar feature buggy

Yahoo's Anti-Spy toolbar feature buggy 08/06/2004 10:01 PM
Web portal admits error in newly released product billed as protection against invasive online marketers.

Yahoo Adds Anti-Spyware Feature to
Browser Toolbar

Yahoo Adds Anti-Spyware Feature to
Browser Toolbar 05/27/2004 10:35 AM

Yahoo Adds Anti-Spyware Feature to
Browser Toolbar (Reuters)

Yahoo Adds Anti-Spyware Feature to
Browser Toolbar (Reuters) 05/27/2004 12:07 AM
Reuters - Internet media company Yahoo Inc. (YHOO.O) unveiled a feature on Wednesday for its Web browser toolbar aimed at making it easier for users to remove unwanted "spyware" programs that snoop on Web surfing habits and other activities.

Google Toolbar Update, Google
Bookmarklets

Google Toolbar Update, Google
Bookmarklets 09/10/2002 11:49 PM
Thanks to Milly for sending word of a Google Toolbar update. New features include a Google Answers link and support for URLs that are broken apart (such as wrapped URLs in email). If you're running the toolbar you can use the experimental features setting to search Dictionary.com from the Combined Search button. Milly also has a series of Google bookmarklets, to search different parts of Google and things like the Microsoft Knowledge Base. They don't seem to work in IE5/Mac. If you're using that, you might be more interested in my own Googler or DTRT, which let you search all the Google's from the comfort of your address bar....

Google AdSense

Google AdSense 02/01/2005 09:42 PM

As some of you that physically visit the site versus pulling the info from a Aggregator can see we have added Google AdSense ads to the website. This is to help me cover rising hosting cost, and also to pay for some of the major improvements to the site design that are being tested on prototype website. We will be rolling out Geek News Central Version 2.0 in the near future.

We want to continue to thank each and one of you for having Geek News Central on your reading list.

I was contacted by Google which saved me having to go through the approval process and we want to thank Jonas for getting us setup. I will be playing with the ad placement over the next few weeks.

Todd...

Google Adsense in RSS: why not?

Google Adsense in RSS: why not? 06/05/2005 10:47 PM
Last week Robert McLaws started placing Google Adsense Ads in the LonghornBlogs RSS Feed. The reaction from the community seemed to be mostly negative; Dave Winer for instance, wrote: If we wanted to, as an industry, reject the idea, we could, by asking the people who create the software to add a feature that strips out all ads. Make it... (433 words)

I put Google Adsense on

I put Google Adsense on 10/30/2003 09:22 PM
I put Google Adsense on Easy Topic Maps two weeks ago. There have been 1,324 impressions and 40 clickthroughs (about 3 by myself), which gives an impressive average clickthrough rate of 3.0% (I'm not supposed to say that) and made...

Google AdSense: Relevance

Google AdSense: Relevance 03/14/2005 05:24 PM
p style=color: redThis entry was brought to you by a href=http://go.lockergnome.com/521Google AdSense/a/p a href=http://go.lockergnome.com/521img src=http://assets.lockergnome.com/ad_images/google/bnr_728x90_payment. gif alt=Google AdSense title=Google AdSense border=1 height=90 width=728/a

Google expands AdSense

Google expands AdSense 06/21/2004 09:15 AM
Journalism.co.uk Jun 21 2004 1:20PM GMT

Google AdSense: Revnue

Google AdSense: Revnue 03/23/2005 02:35 AM

This entry was brought to you by Google AdSense

Google AdSense: Revenue

Google AdSense: Revenue 03/14/2005 05:25 PM
p style=color: redThis entry was brought to you by a href=http://go.lockergnome.com/522Google AdSense/a/p a href=http://go.lockergnome.com/522img src=http://assets.lockergnome.com/ad_images/google/bnr_728x90_revenue. gif alt=Google AdSense title=Google AdSense border=1 height=90 width=728/a

How do I add Google AdSense to my RSS
feed?

How do I add Google AdSense to my RSS
feed? 06/17/2005 03:51 PM
Hi Dave. From reading your earlier postings, I see that you too have been approved by Google for their new AdSense for Feeds program. What I don’t get, however, is how to actually add their adverts in my RSS feed. I’m running Movable Type: can you help me figure this out?… Direct and Related Links for 'How do I add Google AdSense to my RSS feed?'

Graphics in Google AdSense Ads

Graphics in Google AdSense Ads 04/09/2004 04:06 PM
Yes Google, the advertiser who was built on and promoted graphic free advertising now puts graphics...in thier advertising.

Google WebSearch Under AdSense

Google WebSearch Under AdSense 06/18/2004 12:28 AM
"... additional channels, a preview tool, additional language support, a new ad layout and some other account changes..."

Google AdSense: Drive

Google AdSense: Drive 03/14/2005 04:00 PM

This entry was brought to you by Google AdSense

Google AdSense Makes Sense

Google AdSense Makes Sense 09/07/2004 11:43 PM

This entry was brought to you by Google

Google introduces Adsense banner ads.

Google introduces Adsense banner ads. 06/18/2004 07:07 PM
Google has recently introduced banner ads for their adsense program, so perhaps all the talk about how text ads perform...

more on google adsense search for bl0gs

more on google adsense search for bl0gs 06/22/2004 10:40 AM
the typepad example site linked in the story has a good demo of how it works

Google Makes AdSense Multilingual

Google Makes AdSense Multilingual 12/19/2003 06:19 PM
Adweek Online Dec 19 2003 5:29PM ET

Google AdSense Sandbox Tool

Google AdSense Sandbox Tool 01/22/2004 06:11 PM
John Battelle (who has a great blog about Internet seach business and technology) points out a neat little page that lets you enter a URL and see what kind of Google ads would appear on it. Link

Best practices for Google AdSense for
Feeds?

Best practices for Google AdSense for
Feeds? 06/06/2005 12:03 AM
Hi Dave. I know you haven’t included AdSense in your own RSS feeds (yet?) but have watched the space closely. My question to you: I am interested in adding Google AdSense to my own RSS feeds and am wondering if there are any best practices you might suggest?… Direct and Related Links for 'Best practices for Google AdSense for Feeds?'

Google Adsense for RSS Feeds Launches

Google Adsense for RSS Feeds Launches 06/05/2005 11:27 PM
"AdSense for feeds is a program that enables publishers to place relevant ads in the feeds they syndicate. Google technology understands the nuances of language, and places ads that are closely matched (or "targeted") to the content next to which they appear."

Google Extends AdSense Overseas

Google Extends AdSense Overseas 12/19/2003 06:19 PM
asia.internet.com Dec 19 2003 5:25PM ET

What's a 'Page Impression' according to
Google AdSense?

What's a 'Page Impression' according to
Google AdSense? 04/06/2005 11:49 AM
Lockergnome Apr 6 2005 3:38PM GMT

Google AdSense Bay Area Forum

Google AdSense Bay Area Forum 03/19/2005 02:23 AM
I just flew back from the Googleplex (yep, I got to go to the 'Plex), where I was a part of the Google AdSense Bay Area Forum. The AdSense team brought together a group of publishers from the Bay Area, and three presenters with high level experience with AdSense...

Google improves AdSense with Ad Links

Google improves AdSense with Ad Links 03/19/2005 03:27 AM
Feature boosts the number of text ads tied to a Web page and improves the relevance between the ads and the Web page's content.

Google AdSense Turning Japanese

Google AdSense Turning Japanese 01/16/2004 11:32 AM
Media Post Jan 16 2004 3:01PM GMT

Google Adsense Advertisements in RSS
feeds

Google Adsense Advertisements in RSS
feeds 06/05/2005 11:28 PM
As rumored for quite some time now, it looks pretty official.

Google Launch AdSense for Bloggers

Google Launch AdSense for Bloggers 08/27/2004 01:56 PM
Google's popular AdSense advertising service is now being opened up to Bloggers, as well as main stream websites. Announced via Blogger (a Google subsidiary), Bloggers will now be able to gain revenue from their online web logs.

AdSense has been a major stream of revenue for Google. Offering non-intrusive text (and now image) based adverts, content publishers (like this site) have found them more preferable to more traditional forms of adverts. Previously, the service had been limited specifically to non-blog sites. Although launched via Blogger, the service will not be limited to blogs at Blogger.com - Google will be offering the service to all.

The blog post announcing the launch gave a clear warning to would be fraudsters. "Have you ever seen those signs people post near swimming pools to prevent a few misbehaving kids from messing up everyone's fun? Yeah, well we're putting up a sign too: "Welcome To BlogSense, No Fraud Please... We want everyone to have a fair shot at blogging for dollars."

Opening the service up to bloggers is a smart move for Google. Primarily because it’ll give AdSense much more clout; first, because they are the first to do this, and second, because of the massive potential increase in advertising space Google will be able command. However, Google will have to content with some serious issues. Most critically, the massive potential for abuse. They'll have to work a lot harder than before to keep fraudsters from being rewarded by the system. Google have laid down some clear rules that they expect bloggers to follow if they want to stay on the AdSense (BlogSense?) program. Whether they'll be successful is open to speculation.

View: Read more info + tips @ Blogger.com | Signup
View: AdSense Homepage | Google.com

Read full story...

Show Google AdSense Ads for any Keyword

Show Google AdSense Ads for any Keyword 12/25/2004 05:01 PM
Google utility to show current AdSense ads for any keyword.

Running Google AdSense on your site?

Running Google AdSense on your site? 04/11/2005 05:50 AM

If your running Google AdSense ads on your site here is a tool Chris Pirillo is recommending.

Personally I guess if these ads were doing well enough to allow me to retire I may have a look at them otherwise my time is much more valuable that parsing log files. [C hris Pirillo]

Google Toolbar v2.0.107

Google Toolbar v2.0.107 02/18/2004 10:37 PM
Use Google Toolbar to search the web from any site and eliminate pop-up ads. [Freeware 465 KB]
Grok Description matches for Google AdSense ad points to Toolbar with Autolink Feature!
GrokA matches for Google AdSense ad points to Toolbar with Autolink Feature!

Google AdSense ad points to Toolbar with Autolink Feature!

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