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The media pundit's pundit. Written by NYC insider Jeff Jarvis, BuzzMachine covers news, media, journalism, and politics.

Decentralize

3 comments on Decentralize

Decentralize
: Google is getting flack, and well it should, for killing ads from a T-shirt company that actually tries to say something on its shirts. Its policy forbids “advertisements for language and site content that advocates against an individual, group, or organization.” In short: Saying something.

How much better it would be if Google would allow any ad but allow any site to refuse any ad. Put the power in the hands of the players and stand back. Decentralize. That’s the moral of the age. Decentralize.

3 responses to “Decentralize”

  1. Scott Chaffin Avatar
    Scott Chaffin

    I guess so, unless you own some teevee stations and want to decentralize Ted Koppel’s ratings grab.

  2. Person of Choler Avatar
    Person of Choler

    It is “FLAK” not “flack”. The first is a WWII-era German acronym for anti-aircraft fire; the second is a shill for someone or something, especially a politician.
    It might be correct usage, though if the folks whooping for forcing unwilling private enterprises to push the anti-Bush agenda are said to be “flacking” for the bash-GWB crowd.

  3. billg Avatar
    billg

    Google can accept or reject advertisments as it chooses, just like every other publisher (that’s what Google is…a publisher). They’ve no obligation to sell space to anyone. Google isn’t a public facility.
    Notions of decntralization are silly. What’s Google supposed to do: email a trillion sites with a list of the ads for the day and how to kill them? If nothing else, how would Google determine their rates if they don’t know how many people will see the ad? If a print mag didn’t know its circulation, how could it set its rates?