Google’s new tool bar described as evil

[BJ_M]

WEB SURFERS and bloggers have hit out at Google’s new toolbar that adds links to words and phrases, dubbing the service evil.

The SEO Blog complains that Google has lost its cool and become evil. The site says that Webmasters and search marketers should be concerned about the prospect of a Google tool changing their websites.

"A prime example would be the second largest online bookseller, Barnes and Noble. If a web-user was to try to purchase a book from Barnes and Nobel while using the new toolbar, a link to rival Amazon.com would be added to the view's version of the Barnes and Noble site as soon as the book's ISBN appeared."

Jim Zellmer’s blog says that Google, a company with a philosophy that you can make money without doing evil, had now turned to the dark side.

In another posting here, the writers point out that there was a uproar about this when Microsoft tried to introduce the similar SmartTags back in 2001. Although Vole didn’t go ahead with the scheme, Jeff Reynar, who designed it, now works at Google.

The Kaz Log says: "Normally I have only praise for all things Google, but the new toolbar browser plug-in is evil. It inserts links into web pages that point to sponsored content. In other words, the links on the page you are looking at have nothing to do with what the original author intended to communicate.

Webpronews has a list of bloggers who are also snarling at the bar here

[glockjs]

why because it might show a lower price at a different website?

[ViRaL1]

Sounds a lot like Gator.

[BJ_M]

why because it might show a lower price at a different website?

weird how it changes the links on a page --

[shelbyGT]

it doesn't really change the links on the page. for instance, if there is an address on the page, you can hit the "auto link" button and then click on the address and it gives you a map of it on googlemaps beta.
I, for one, like the feature.