Google Mania

I came across an interesting NY Times article today that asked the question, "Is Google a Media Company?"

Google claims that its not a media company, but critics disagree.

Google has long insisted that it has no plans to own or create content, and that it is a friend, not a foe, of media companies. The Google search engine sends huge numbers of users to the digital doorsteps of thousands of media companies, many of which also rely on Google to place ads on their sites.

Google created Gmail, owns Blogger (the host this blog uses), owns YouTube, and is now entering into the world of digital encyclopedias.

Like Wikipedia, Google has created a new host called "Knol."

Google envisions Knol as a place where experts can share their knowledge on a variety of topics. It hopes to create a sort of online encyclopedia built from the contributions of scores of individuals.

I think its great that Google created Knol, however, some people have a problem with it because between Knol, YouTube, and Blogger, Google takes up the first three entries of every search which is a conflict to Google's advertising partners.

So, is Google a media company? I would say yes. They create their own content as well as promote others. I am not sure this is necessarily a bad thing. I like having options on the Internet.

Have you ever heard of Knol? Do you think that Google is alienating its advertisers by entering into the world of web content? Let us know by leaving a comment.