More Google News...

As I pointed out a couple of weeks ago, some of Google's recent output has been less than impressive.

And this week an analyst (Scott Kessler at S&P) had the temerity to rate Google a SELL! The BusinessWeek article covering Scott's views is here. It is a very interesting read, not least about the risks of click fraud.

David Pogue at the NY Times also had this to say about the Google Video Store (userid may be required for this article, but it can probably be sourced at least in part elsewhere). David concludes with this indictment:

Even if you give Google every benefit of every doubt, this video store doesn't live up to Google's usual standards of excellence. This, after all, is the company whose unofficial motto is "Don't be evil." In the case of Google Video, the company's fans might have settled for "Don't be mediocre

So, is there something to the timing of the release of this story on Google fighting back against the US Government in the name of privacy? While I wholly support Google's stance in theory, and condemn recent actions by Microsoft, Yahoo (and I think AOL too) in places like China, I suspect this story is a little bit overblown (though the problem of privacy is a slippery slope)! While the actions this week seem to have originated from the US Government itself (filing court papers), it does seem like Google has been presented with an excellent PR opportunity to show it is still in touch with its public, and that it knows when to milk such opportunities.