BBC Launches... Google?

from the the-story-that-wasn't dept

Here's an article hyping up the fact that the BBC is launching their own "commercial free" internet search site because they're so upset with all these other search engines and their paid listings. As I was reading it, I thought that this seemed silly, since more and more people now use Google - which doesn't do pay-for-placement searches. Then I get to the bottom of the article where they admit that it's "powered by Google". So, this isn't some new "commercial free" search engine that the BBC is launching. They just licensed Google. Of course, it also uses some BBC technology, which appear to be filters to keep out bad things like porn - but we all know how well filters tend to work.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. identicon
    whit, 4 May 2002 @ 5:01am

    Free from commercial pressures?

    Ah, yes...the BBC's version of Google is "free from commercial pressures" as it "finds sites from around the world, but gives preferential ranking to British ones." Yes, indeed.

    There's so much there to make fun of, it's hard to pick just one thing...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Matt, 4 May 2002 @ 6:41pm

    Google DOES have pay-for placement

    Its called "Adwords" and more info at

    http://adwords.google.com/

    Its a pay per click system like overture. Granted, it doesn't show in the same list asn the regular results, but they do accept advertising.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. icon
    Mike (profile), 5 May 2002 @ 2:19am

    Re: Google DOES have pay-for placement

    Right. But selling advertising which is very clearly separate from the search results is NOT pay for placement.

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.