Google and the Axis of Evil

Remember the days when Google was partnered with Yahoo? Seems like only yesterday doesn't it. Most people who regularly use search engines are aware that that partnership went sour- but not many know exactly why. Essentially, Google is trying to fight evil, in its own little way. Evil, as seen by Google, is things like banner advertising and pop ups. Go to Yahoo now. See the amount of advertising they have? See the pop up you get every time you go to a page? That's evil. Now go to Google. They have some advertising, and sponsored links, but they're hardly noticeable, and they certainly don't have pop ups. This is all well and good but it leaves Google with a moral dilemma-theyre running short of cash, so do they fight it out and stick to their morals, or take the money and run? At present, they're sticking with their morals. The funny thing is, they're still the most popular search engine. Despite all the money and advertising being poured into almost all the other engines Google is still leading them. This is probably precisely because they are about the only search engine left that can remember what the internet should be all about. Search engines are to allow people to search for sites. Legitimate sites. Not ones who have paid to be there. They arent necessarily what you want, and the ones you do want are thus pushed further down the scale. A search engine is for searching, not for advertising and manipulation. But Google is having none of this. They still allow free listings, even for business sites. They have little advertising, and what they do have is unobtrusive. You can't pay to get higher placements. The page is simple clear and easy to use. This all amounts to a pretty clear picture- Google is in it for the consumer, the searcher, the everyday web surfer. They know what we want and what we don't. The other search engines are privy to the same information (their employees search the web as much as anyone), but they would rather have the money. Not only that, but they make it obvious that's what they want. Pop up banners are not good. How many people actually click on them? Usually you just close it as soon as it pops up. Maybe soon corporations will understand that pop up banners are about as effective as You get the feeling you are in a business website, with corporate sponsorship shoved in your face everywhere you turn. Some of them even hide the search bar amongst all the other mish mash so it actually looks like a banner itself! Even worse, some have things that look like search bars, but are actually banners so when you click it to type in your search, you get whisked away to some godforsaken corner of the internet you would never knowingly visit if your life depended on it. But this all amounts to money (for them, not for us) and when it comes down to it that's all that matters in this day and age. Thankfully there is one lone crusader making a gallant stand in the face of annihilation; surrounded by corporate banners, pursued at every turn, and constantly tempted by the serpent to taste the forbidden fruit of corporate sponsorship. The battle lines are drawn and Google has stood its ground. So far. For how much longer no one can tell.