Google: Do Some Evil

Moved on! Check TheCairoCalls

Some of you might be familiar with Google. You know, the search engine. Yes, and the verb also, like in "I googeled the company you said you were a general manager of, and as it turned out, the company was shut after the revolution; the 1919 one!"
So what about Google?
The geeks among you might now a bit about Google, and the culture it spawned. Those were guys who came over in an industry controlled by Microsoft and it's embedded security holes, and monopolistic tactics, only to take the world by storm. Google became more than a household name. The guys set very high standards for themselves; "Google's mission is to organize the world's information"!! And the amazing thing, is that they're actually doing that. From searchable books, to Google Earth, those guys were on a real roll.
So what happened?
Nothing, they're still going strong. The only problem they got into this far, was Sergey Brin's (co-founder) insistence that the mission statement of the company contains those three words: "Do no evil". The saner of us will go "C'mon...that's just hype". But Google continued to prove everybody wrong, from donating to charities, to giving their employees 20% off time to pursue individual work, to covering their home city (Mount View, CA) with free wi-fi. These guys seemed to be truly good.
Until...until, it was China (they're quite handful those Chinese, aren't they?)
In order to get a google.cn domain to improve user experience in China, Google had to comply with, let's say some sort of agreement with the Chinese government.
They had to censor their results!!
(I can see the horrified looks in your eyes; I know son, heroes rise and fall!)
Overnight, literally, the company which looked every bit as the Mother Teresa of the digital worse transformed into the Great Satan! People are calling on others to sell Google stock, while others are writing lost-love letters to the company...it is just, snif, sad!
What's hilarious though, is that Bill Gates is actually defending their action...that's not just expected, that's dramatically ironic! I can see that line in a butt of a joke and not in the real news!
Can't wait for the google.eg!

P.S. I am not in any way criticising Google, or endorsing their actions, there are a lot of arguments for both sides (read this for Google's response)...I am only commenting on the cultural phenomena that Google became and the huge following they have, which is unprecedented for a company.

Tags: google, china, bill gates, censor, egypt, evil