Using Google: A Battle of Wits and Ideas

[Wannaplan?]

All in the name of dioxin, in mid-Michigan, there is a battle of wits between the Midland-based Dow Chemical Company, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, and residents who live along the Tittabawassee River and in the City of Midland. I did a Google search this morning on "Tittabawassee" and found some interesting search results. Try it yourself. What's worth noting are the ads that show up on the right-hand side of the results page.

The first one is an ad for www [dot] dowmidmichigan.com, which is "Dow's Community Update" and says it aims to keep residents informed about the dioxin/furan situation. If you click the link, it redirects you to www [dot] dow.com/facilities/namerica/michigan.

The second ad is for the "Tittabawassee River Watch" at www [dot] trwnews.net. These folks are local activists who work to inform the public about dioxin exposure along the Tittabawassee River.

The third ad is for "Stueve Helder Siegel LLP" at www [dot] litigation-results.com and says, "Class action filed against Dow for Tittabawassee dioxin contamination."

Wow! Google has it all stacked out in front of you - the good guys, the bad guys, and the ambulance chasers! Drama!

What is surprising about all this is that I did a Google search last week for "Tittabawassee" and the only ad to show up was the Tittabawassee River Watch group. Seems like Dow was a little bit behind on the internet activism curve, but the giant company learns quick, huh?

What other Google battle of wits have you witnessed? And yes, I am familiar with the "miserable failure" search hijack for the White House. This one is different - these folks are paying Google to get their ideas out there.

 

[Gedunker]

Sounds like the marketplace of ideas at work to me. Excepting the sleazy ambulance chaser/anti-tort reformer.

I must admit that when I google something, I don't view the accompanying ads, much as I turn past them without looking when I read the morning newspaper. I'll be interested to see what others have noted.

 

[Duke Of Dystopia]

.......

What other Google battle of wits have you witnessed? And yes, I am familiar with the "miserable failure" search hijack for the White House. This one is different - these folks are paying Google to get their ideas out there.

That sounds interesting, describe this one please, I missed it!.

 

[Wannaplan?]

I must admit that when I google something, I don't view the accompanying ads, much as I turn past them without looking when I read the morning newspaper. I'll be interested to see what others have noted.

I know, I'm the same way. But when I googled "Tittabawassee" last week, I couldn't help but notice an ad for that activist website. I though that was weird. It's like googling something that's non-descript on the marketplace like "Monday" and you get ads for Red Bull and Starbucks. So, when I googled "Tittabawassee" again this morning, I was even more surpised to see the lawyer and Dow link.


[ot]

That sounds interesting, describe this one please, I missed it!.

Go to Google, type in "miserable failure" and hit the "I'm feeling Lucky" button and you will go to www [dot] whitehouse.gov/president/gwbbio.html.[/ot]