There are no free searches

Is Google going to end up with a strangle hold on the world of media? Do they already have too much power? So far I think things are fine. But as we give Google more power over the different types of media being absorbed, I do find that Google could quite easily go from a friend to a foe if there are not some decent checks and balances put into place.

: There is no free lunch. There are no free searches. At least not for media, there aren’t.

Media depend on Google. Without the search engine, no one would be found. Without GoogleNews, they’d all get less traffic. Without the ad programs, advertisers wouldn’t be advertising on plain old home pages; bloggers owe gratitude to Google for taking the cooties off citizens’ media. With the ad programs, big media sites and bloggers alike are getting checks from Google. All that is wonderful.

So is heroin. At first. [Read the rest]