[WEB4LIB] RE: More on Google going commercial

[Dan Lester]

Wednesday, January 02, 2002, 12:39:48 PM, you wrote:
KGS> The question is not whether Web portals need money to function, but to
KGS> whom they are beholden--the public good, or the profit motives of their
KGS> owners. If Google's primary responsibility is to turn a profit, it may
KGS> be a wonderful resource, but its priorities and outcomes will always be
KGS> driven by its allegiance to its shareholders.  And that changes things.

This is true, and I'm sure we all understand that.  Heavens, I'm sure
that some of us have retirement funds (whether personally or
corporately managed) in some of those companies.

KGS> Public-domain portals--LII, Infomine, BUBL, Scout, MEL, IPL, etc.--are
KGS> driven by a different set of priorities and expectations.  Public-domain
KGS> portals need money, too, but the funding comes from the public (or in
KGS> some cases from philanthropies). It would be self-defeating for these
KGS> portals to sell relevance, for example, because it would undermine the
KGS> public's trust.

Absolutely.  Again, I'm sure we all know that.  However, it may be
important, or at least useful, to emphasize the differences in library
instruction and elsewhere.  All that being said, it is still important
for us to teach users that many (no, most) nonprofits also have
positions, philosophies, and goals.  They may not be to make money, at
least not directly, but they do have positions that may be clearly
stated or may be unstated.  Our users also need to learn to evaluate
those situations as well, since they may not be as clearly stated as
they are at nra.org.  We also need to remember that in every website
or book we select, we're using our personal or institutional
philosophies in the process.

KGS> I don't begrudge Google its commercialism, but I also won't confuse it
KGS> with a resource created by the people, for the people.  Information, as
KGS> a public good, needs high-trust caretakers whose primary allegiance is
KGS> to public service.

I'll try to avoid the debate about what information is for the public
good and what isn't, and whether the correlation between the
"goodness" or "badness" of it is in any way related to whether or not
you can find it through a commercial or free search engine.  I'm not
suggesting that lii.org will ever end up as a commercial service,
but we shouldn't forget that Yahoo! and several other commercial
search engines started out as personal or academic non-profit
endeavors.  For that matter, so did Linux and Basic.

Happy 010202

dan

-- 
Dan Lester, Data Wrangler  dan at RiverOfData.com 208-283-7711
3577 East Pecan, Boise, Idaho  83716-7115 USA
www.riverofdata.com  www.gailndan.com  Stop Global Whining!