InsideGoogle

Google Blacklists C|Net News.com

Google has refused to talk to C|Net News.com reporters from now on, due to an Elinor Mills article that discussed CEO Eric Schmidt’s personal life.

To quote, from her article on Google’s chef search:

Google could not be immediately reached for comment. (Google representatives have instituted a policy of not talking with CNET News.com reporters until July 2006 in response to privacy issues raised by a previous story.)

The previous article contained shocking revelations on CEO Schmidt, such as the fact that:

• The CEO of an $81.5 billion company has a lot of money
• Schmidt has a wife named Wendy
• Schmidt has somehow scraped together a few bucks to live in a nice neighborhood
• and that all of this information can be found on Google

Now, there are companies that ignore the blogosphere and the bashing they are getting in it, but to ignore mainstream media (as C|Net certainly is)? I’ve never heard of it. Especially over something so trivial. I mean, we’ve had pinup pictures of Bill Gates flashed all over major websites and he never got mad. Steve Ballmer acts all wacky and everybody loves him for it.

What, so now Danny Sullivan and John Battelle are the only people Google will trust? What happens where Search Engine Watch posts photos of Sergey’s cat and Searchblog does a report on Larry’s gardener getting a $1 tip? Who will carry Google’s embargoes then?

Hmm… Maybe I’ll get them. You know what? Screw them all, more for me!

Just kidding. This is just a terrible idea. You don’t lock out a news organization willing to promote your company. Google may have nice digs, but they don’t live in a bubble. They need C|Net every bit as much as C|Net needs them, and they certainly will when things go sour, as they always eventually do.

According to Techdirt:

A well known reporter recently told me that Google refuses to grant him interviews with their executive staff because they don’t see any benefit to the company at all. The company is doing great, rolling in money and everyone knows all about them already. So why should they grant interviews? Especially if the reporter might (gasp!) ask tough questions?

Tsk, tsk.

Even if they’re legitimately pissed at shoddy coverage of their company, it still comes off as a bit arrogant to refuse to talk to anyone at News.com for a year.

UPDATE: A Slashdot poster points out there’s plenty of actual embarassing things about Google’s chiefs out there, including:

Sergey and Larry in a hot tub

Sergey in drag

Larry taking a final in “Computers and Social Ethics” at Stanford

Larry on a Segway

Eric’s house

And that Google reveals plenty of other people’s private info, including info that should only be leaked by top White House officials:

Google outs Valerie Plame (Google Images)
(via Philipp)

UPDATE 2: ThreadWatch says:

Oh boy, I had such a time choosing a headline for this one! Spotted by Slashdot, it appears that Google are stamping thier feet, having a tantrum and taking their ball home over CNet getting a little too personal in this story. A tearful GOOG told those bad kids at CNet that they will not speak to them again for a year…

LMFAO…

Ouch. This one is not going away.

August 5th, 2005 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Controversy, Culture, General | 5 comments