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by James Robertson.
Original Post: A bridge too far?
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I think Scoble accidentally stumbled on something interesting - have a look at his anti-Auto-Link post. I haven't commented on this thing - truth be told, I haven't been able to get myself to care (can I avoid AutoLink? Yes. Ok then, I don't care...). Here's the interesting thing from Scoble:
I believe that anything that changes the linking behavior of the Web is evil. Anything that changes my content is evil. Particularly anything that messes with the integrity of the link system. And I do see this as a slippery slope. Today users have to jump through hoops to use this feature. What about tomorrow? Oh, and Google says they won't be evil, but what about their competitors who haven't taken such an anti-evil stance? (Hint: Microsoft isn't the only Google competitor).
Now, some other people tried to make the point that popup ad blockers and Tivo should also be seen as evil, then.
That's pushing the point a little far. The fundamental building block of the Web is linking. Linking is MY EDITORIAL CONTENT. That's different than advertising. And, if you got rid of popups, I still am able to get my point across here. In fact, I don't use them. And I don't have advertising here, so my point is still OK.
That may not be pushing the point too far. Say I visit a website - they sell space to advertisters, some (or all) of whom use pop-ups or pop-unders. Are they annoying? Heck yes. Do I use tools to block them? Heck yes. Does blocking them change the behavior of the web?
Yes
You can't really argue this point. The ads contain links that the site owner wanted you to see (he's paying for you to see them). By blocking them, you change the behavior of the web. See, this is why I simply can't get worked up over AutoLink. Given appropriate tools, I can decide whether I want to see pop ups or not. Google is providing me with a tool that lets me decide whether I want to see related information or not. Heck, I might as well rage against paid placement. Scoble blathers on and on about how AutoLink is an evil idea. Winer has been going on and on about it as well. I'll say the same thing I say to people who can't figure out the "change channel" or "off" switch on a TV or radio - you don't have to view/hear/read the content. It's an individual choice, and that's just fine. No one said you have to use Google. It's an open market for search engines guys - if this is an evil idea, people won't like it. If people don't like it, MS has the perfect opportunity to market their AutoLink free search engine.
There's definitely some irony in watching MS yap like a small dog when they are getting out-competed though.
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