In response to the May 3 article,
Google's Idealistic IPO (sub req'd, see my
summary below), I wrote the following letter to the editor:
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Dear WSJ Real Time,
Thank you for the wonderfully written article of May 3rd, "
Google's Idealistic IPO Gives Sullied Net Era a Second Chance."
Google's "
Don't Be Evil" mantra is as inspiring as it is simple. Perhaps Google is "embarrassingly naive," but like you, I "giddily disagree"!
I think Google's on to something here--and it's bigger and deeper than just being a good
corporate citizen and funding
nonprofits.
As a journalist, you'll appreciate that Google is standing up against the
corrupting influence money and power have over
truth.
Unlike many of its competitors, Google's search results are "
unbiased and objective," "the best [they] know how to produce." Search results aren't influenced by advertising dollars or politics--they are as pure and accurate as Google can make them. It's so important to maintain the
trust of their users that Google will forgo hundreds of millions of dollars in the short term by refusing to sell out or yield to pressure.
Isn't it much the same in
journalism? Maintaining
editorial integrity costs money in the short term, but your brand and reputation benefit in the long term. I'm sure you could name a dozen media and
news organizations that have compromised their reporting, while the Journal sticks to its principles and prospers.
Perhaps I'm naive as well, but count me in as a believer in the "
Don't Be Evil" philosophy. After seemingly endless
exploitations of the public (Enron), and astonishing
betrayals of trust (stock analyst research), I'm ready for a quiet revolution of
enlightened self-interest.
I hope the publicity Google generates in their
IPO extravaganza will get people talking about conflicts of interest and corrupt practices in business, politics and the media. Google has changed the world--let's hear it for the guys in white hats!
Don't be evil.
