The Incompetents

The standard line is that the Internet is killing “old media.” Almost every idiot argues that Google by showing the title and 1 and ¾ line of the start of the article with a link is infringing their copyright and killing their business.

It all started by the AFP, the Agence France Press, who didn't want Google to link to their news without Google paying for the privilege of linking to their websites. The courts in Europe have consistently ruled against Google, the bad, the mean American company that is destroying our world.

The news media in Belgium, through Copiepresse, banded together and took Google to Belgium courts 5 years ago over Google/News: Google ordered by Belgian court to remove all Belgian news and photographs. The courts are fairly slow, but a ruling here, a ruling there, and the Belgium newspapers won and crushed Google/News. A complete vindication for the Belgian press, an utter defeat for Google. So Google followed the court ruling to the letter. That's when the proverbial “shit hit the fan.”

1. Google removed all the links to the Belgian newspapers, all and every single one of them. The Belgian newspapers didn't exist anymore as far as Google was concerned.
2. The Belgian newspapers cried foul! That's not what they wanted, they just wanted money from Google to enrich their coffers since Google is such a big and profitable company.
3. Looks like (I have no proof) their web traffic completely died. The only people getting to their websites were the people with direct links.
4. The incompetents complained that it wasn't what they wanted, Google didn't have the right to remove them from Goggle's indexes.
5. 3 days later, the Belgian press through Copiepresse allowed Google to link back to the Belgian newspapers without any further condition! 5 years of lawsuits and case law thrown down the drain.

This brings us to the latest copyright kerfuffle with Google+.

1. If you use a free service, they have to make money in some way, somebody has to pay the piper, there's no free lunch. In the case of Google+, it's for Google to defend his position in the paid advertising world against Facebook.
2. If your business relies on Google/Facebook to bring you customers, put-up, shut up and work harder or change your business.

3. Learn from the smartest guys, that's the ones making “a killing.” The smartest guy that is making money hand over fist is Trey Ratcliff of Stuck in Customs. He must be right, he employs 11 people!

   He uses a dual license, Creative Commons for personal use and full payment for commercial use. He has a full-time person for just doing the licensing.

   Go to: http://www.stuckincustoms.com/2011/07/14/google-is-great-for-photographers/ to listen to his interview on Google+. It's 37 minutes well spent.