A GOOGLE BACKLASH? I’m getting a fair number of emails like this one from reader Jeff Schneider of Texas Roast:
I run a small gourmet coffee company that does decent business on the internet, thanks to the reach of Google Ad Words. However, I cannot live with Google’s decision to succumb to the wishes of the brutal dictatorship in China. So, as of today, my company has suspended all business with Google. This will have a substantial negative impact on my bottom line, but in some cases principle means more than money. As a veteran of OIF, I know all too well how valuable freedom is and I cannot support a company that helps to suppress it.
I would ask you to encourage any of your readers who might use Google Ad Words to take the same actions and send a message to Google. It is time for Americans to tell businesses when they have gone too far in compromising the most basic principles of freedom and make them pay a price for their actions.
Here’s more on a Google boycott. I don’t know how seriously this will impact Google (boycotts usually don’t do much damage) but I think this will be a good opportunity for any GoogleAd competitors (Blogads, say) to snap up some of Google’s business.
UPDATE: Blogger News Network is stopping Google Ads too.