Google Blogger Issues Apology

Google Health Advertising Account planner and blogger Lauren Turner had a good idea for a marketing post aimed at getting health-related companies to advertise with Google Ads. She played off of Michael Moore's new movie, Sicko. Is it auto-biographical?

excerpted: Lights, camera, action: the healthcare industry is back in the spotlight. (Not that it ever left the stage.) Next week, Michael Moore’s documentary film, Sicko, will start playing in movie theaters across America.

The New York Times calls Sicko a “cinematic indictment of the American health care system.” The film is generating significant buzz and is sure to spur a lively conversation about health coverage, care, and quality in America. While legislators, litigators, and patient groups are growing excited, others among us are growing anxious.

Many of our clients face these issues; companies come to us hoping we can help them better manage their reputations through “Get the Facts” or issue management campaigns. Your brand or corporate site may already have these informational assets, but can users easily find them?

We can place text ads, video ads, and rich media ads in paid search results or in relevant websites within our ever-expanding content network. Whatever the problem, Google can act as a platform for educating the public and promoting your message. We help you connect your company’s assets while helping users find the information they seek.

Unfortunately, some of her fellow Google geeks didn't like it and the San Fran Chronicle says they crossed the corporate line. Google has now apologized ... twice. What a crock. Hopefully those that direct medical advertising dollars, no small sum of cash, will tell Google Ads to stuff it. Google had better make up its mind as to whether it is a business enterprise, or the model for a nanny state. Between this and the whole China mess, for which they already apologized, they are beginning to look more and more like a political football being kicked hither and yon by the Left, as opposed to a serious business enterprise.

Reaction to her comments lit up the blogosphere with outrage at Google for taking sides and for failing to acknowledge problems with the nation's health care system. More than a few bloggers accused Google of violating its "Don't be evil" motto by staking a position that they disagreed with.

After being bombarded with complaints for two days, Turner returned to the blog to quell the unrest by explaining that the opinions she expressed were her own, not Google's. The confusion, she said, was her mistake for failing to offer a clear explanation of whose views she was sharing.

Apparently still under attack, Google offered a second, more strident apology shortly thereafter -- this time in a posting on its main corporate blog, which has a bigger readership.

Missy Krasner, a Google product marketing manager, admitted that the original blog posting "failed to recognize that readers would -- properly, but incorrectly -- impute the criticisms as reflecting Google's official position."

"We blew it," Krasner said.

She continued: "In fact, Google does share many of the concerns that Mr. Moore expresses about the cost and availability of health care in America. Indeed, we think these issues are sufficiently important that we invited our employees to attend his film (nearly 1,000 people did so)."

Yes, Google blew it - again.

Comments

[Observer]

What I see here is that Ms. Turner expressed her own doubts with the health care system issues and was trying to encourage potential advertisers to factually counter the Sicko film and press coverage, sort of balanced full disclosure opportunities.

Then most of the blogs and the San Fran Chronicle seemed to chastise her for suggesting that a balanced factual debate of the issue was akin to heresy.

It seems that the corporate response by Ms Krasner indeed showed backpedaling and almost political pandering to left of center pressure.

I haven't had time, but if you followed the links to all the blogs that track backed the original post, I would imagine it would be heavily biased to the left of center.

[Purple Avenger]

I can get FREE health care at the best hospitals in the area...by simply claiming I'm a homeless illegal alien with no ID and no money.

FREE is about as good as it gets isn't it?

[IslamoLlama]

"Yes, Google blew it - again."

Man, that Google, what a disaster of a company, eh? How do they stay in business what with not being a serious business enterprise at all? Maybe someone can create a sort of conservative search engine to match the robust content and incredibly accuracy of Conservapedia and Q-Tube. We can only hope.