Bing to Google: Can’t We All Just Get Along?
When should competitors work together? Only through greater transparency and sharing can Google and Bing collectively create a better Internet, says Microsoft’s Harry Shum.
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Google caused quite a stir at Big Think’s Farsight 2011 conference by accusing Microsoft of copying their search results. Later in the debate, Microsoft’s Dr. Harry Shum put Google on the defensive, arguing that Google ads incentivize spam. Shum then offered the closest thing to a truce, suggesting the companies work together to develop industry standards for search quality. Only through greater transparency and sharing, he argued, could the companies collectively create a better Internet
But to what extent is Google’s self-interest hampering our ability to create a better Internet? And this begs the larger question: When should competitors come together and collaborate, and how can we as a society encourage that?
Watch the full debate here.