More evil Google activity...?

[dequadin]

<snip>

 

[DJ...]

Sorry, but can you explain to me what's so evil about it? Basically your issue is with targeted advertising, which is anything but evil. I'd far sooner have more targeted, relevant advertising than mass spam...

 

[milomak]

What I find interesting about this is that Google seemingly thinks that there is no need to target Opera and FF users

Which from a marketing perspective makes sense. Why target people who already know that there are alternative browsers available?

 

[LFX]

it's just google's way of saying ff ftmfw!

 

[detritus]

I don't see it in IE8, but if I switch to Compatibility View it appears, so it looks like they are targeting IE versions below 8.

 

[DJ...]

Something else I noticed it that I only get the Chrome Download link when going to google.co.za, strangly enough if you go to google.com you don;t get the download link in IE 7?

Seems link google is targeting our IE users (and possibly other "emerging markets")....

And this is evil?

 

[LazyLion]

I noticed this a few weeks ago already. I didn't think it was evil. What is wrong with pushing your own browser on your own site. Microsoft pushes IE on their own site. The fact that they are targetting IE users is because they have an agreement with firefox and they believe firefox is better than IE. Nothing sinister about it.

 

[Juggy]

So has anyone else noticed how you ONLY get the link to download Google Chrome from the Google.co.za homepage when you are in IE and not FF?

So Google is targeting IE users to upgrade to Chrome but not FF users? Check out this screen capture I took:

This got me thinking how is this type of "marketing" of Google Chrome any different to the law suite that M$ is currently fighting the EU for bundeling IE with Windows? With so much of computing moving online, it's not resonable to think of the cloud as the OS of the future, and with the domanance of Google in search surely you could view this in the same light as M$ and IE?

Any thoughts?

I think the obvious answer is you buy Win XP and you're forced to use IE because it's pre-installed. You don't buy google.co.za as a search engine and you're not forced to use chrome.

Very different.

 

[Juggy]

What I find interesting about this is that Google seemingly thinks that there is no need to target Opera and FF users

Which from a marketing perspective makes sense. Why target people who already know that there are alternative browsers available?

I think the answer to that is anyone using IE isn't too bright so will probably download and try anything FF users have obviously moved from IE because they know what they want from a browser and don't simply settle for what's installed.

This statement doesn't count for everyone obviously.