12.17.07
Gemini version available ♊︎Novell, OOXML, and Microsoft’s Control of Search Engines, Media
Ask uncle Google about Open XML and see what comes up
It must no longer be secret that the mainstream press and other acquired voices of endorsement play a significant role in public perception. We have previously shown, for example, that Bill Gates owns many media companies and also some of the largest analyst firms. Therefore, so it’s hardly surprising that the media is highly biased. Yes, it’s worrisome indeed. We have explained the impact of this on people's views, understanding and perception of the Novell/Microsoft deal.
What is sometimes referred to as the Microsoft “talking points” has an impact on OpenDocument format’s reputation and the understanding (or lack thereof) of OOXML. The only way to combat this is by spreading information, not lies (which would be a case of fighting fire with fire). There are thousands of known Microsoft bloggers and even AstroTurfers. It is no secret that while trawling or searching the Web, one is likely to absorb the biased view of people who are paid to deliver their opinion or those with hidden motives (vested interests).
Those who care about free competition and open standards can try to compensate for disinformation merely by blogging. As simple as that may sound, Microsoft’s functional ownership of the media is hard to defeat. The OOXML frauds, for instance, have scarcely been covered in publications with high levels of reach. This alarming knowledge escapes wide circulation which it deserves. Almost nobody wrote about the ISO's own admission that Microsoft had gamed the system and stacked those committees. Microsoft still appears to be working on stacking. It may do this yet again as it prepares for the BRM.
”Microsoft was caught spamming the blackhat way in the past.“Curious minds have wondered how Microsoft manages to manipulate Google PageRank, as well as other types of ranks which increase exposure and traffic. Microsoft was caught spamming the blackhat way in the past. This is clearly proven in numerous SEO forums. There is no question about that. We’re talking about heavy keyword stuffing and doorway pages that justify an immediate ban from most search engines. Microsoft still does that. It has no guilt as is frequently resorts to such tactics, protected by ego, arrogance and endless vanity. It’s the benevolent emperor in its own eyes, so its self-glorifying message must cancel or supersede all else.
Here are some of the latest incidents that show Microsoft’s selfish behaviour on the Web:
1. Bots Helped To Boost Microsoft Live Search Gains
In a blog post, Compete analyst Steve Willis attributed Microsoft’s search gains to prizes awarded to users participating in Live Search Club, which features games that post queries to Microsoft’s search engine.
[...]
“Microsoft is essentially being DDoSed by thousands of people hundreds of times per minute, but they are mistaking this rise in traffic for people actually using Live Search.”
2. Microsoft’s Club Live fiasco
People were using the macro on more than 3 games at a time, on more than 2 accounts at a time, why Microsoft didn’t pick up on the fact that in the first few days some people had accumulated enough for 3 Zunes each is beyond us. Some were lucky, others, not so much.
[...]
So far no one has been banned from using their accounts, which they needed to sign up, probably because they did not break any laws, or probably because Microsoft didn’t want that hassle and liked their new found traffic.
3. [Partly sarcastic] Microsoft funding bankrupt Live Search experiment with porn spam
Dear reader, please tell me: what do you think of a search engine that steals (bandwidth and AdSense revenue), lies, spams away, and is not clever enough to stop their criminal activities when they’re caught?
Recently a Live Search rep whined in an interview because so many robots.txt files out there block their crawler…
Our site happens to be among the sufferers and victims of this activity, with many hundreds of empty requests per day, all of which come from Microsoft.
The world is probably very fortunate not to have Microsoft as the ‘key holder’ of the Web’s major gateway and hub. That would arguably be Google. Despite all of this manipulation, however, Microsoft continues to lose market share (while Google is gaining some).
Yahoo sites had 22.9 percent of the U.S. market, a 0.8 percentage-point fall from September. Microsoft slipped to 9.7 percent from 10.3 percent, Ask was flat at 4.7 percent and Time Warner’s network dipped 0.1 percentage point to 4.2 percent.
The problem of media control and informational ownership isn’t exclusive to technology. It’s an issue that is widely accounted for and represented in a political context as well. Consider the video below.
Here is the video’s enclosed description.
Political caroling against media concentration.
Stop the FCC’s holiday giveaway to Big Media. Kevin Martin, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has been keeping a secret from the American people. He wants to push through plans to remove decades-old media ownership protections. And he’s trying to do it without public scrutiny. No FCC broadcast-newspaper cross-ownership waivers for the Tribune Company.
Let us learn from the observations above that when people look for information on a particular topic, they are quite likely to be exposed to a point of view which represent those are wealthy and those who guiltlessly game the system.
If I recall this correctly, I suspect it was a certain propaganda minister who once said something along the lines of “when you control information, you control the minds”. Microsoft has always understood that. In fact, Gates has persistently called Microsoft to take bloggers seriously and sway them Microsoft’s way (another advice from Gates was to “keep your enemies closer”). I am still hearing from friends who run Linux Web sites and get generous invitations from Microsoft (last heard just days ago). There is nothing new under the Sun. Just watch Rick and others whose services Microsoft bought (e.g. to edit Wikipedia on topics like OOXML). Two foundations boggle the mind also. █
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