Gulf oil spill: To control message, BP buys search terms from Google -- the mechanics and implications

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: the terminal of geoff goodfellow <geoff () iconia com>
Date: June 11, 2010 3:47:07 AM EDT
To: dfarber () cs cmu edu
Subject: Gulf oil spill: To control message, BP buys search terms from Google -- the mechanics and implications
Reply-To: geoff () iconia com

Gulf oil spill: To control message, BP buys search terms from Google

BP has purchased several search terms from Google, including the
phrase 'oil spill.' A BP spokesman says the PR initiative is an
attempt to inform readers of BP's clean-up efforts in the Gulf of
Mexico.

By Matthew Shaer / June 9, 2010

Late last month, as the controversy over the Gulf oil spill was just
heating up, BP tussled with the folks behind a popular spoof Twitter
feed. Now comes word that the PR department at BP has forked over a
healthy chunk of change to control the way Web users view the company.
According to BP reps, the company has purchased a range of popular
search terms – including "oil spill" – from Google, the most popular
search engine in the US.

So what does it mean to "purchase" a search term? Well, it certainly
doesn't make all the negative results go away. Today, for instance, a
Google search for "oil spill" returned a range of results, including a
Huffington Post article and a Wikipedia entry on oil spills.

But the very top result is a shaded advertisement from BP, trumpeting
the company's clean-up efforts. "Learn More about How BP is Helping,"
the advertisement reads. ...

http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2010/0609/Gulf-oil-spill-To-control-message-BP-buys-search-terms-from-Google




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