Dear Google:

Thank you, for showing us a commitment to your “Universally accessible and useful” motto. When you started out a few years ago, you wanted to provide a medium through which people could find any worthy information they could possibly want on the World Wide Web. You set out to create a search engine in which one consumer had the same access to information as any other; so that we all had the same ability to create an informed perspective and make informed decisions. You are now sticking to your initial reason for getting into business, with your refusal to continue implementing censorship on behalf of the nation of China.

Sometimes, a business will start out with the best of intentions, but over time start justifying small departures from their original business plan. This may have been the case when you went from your “Don’t be evil” corporate philosophy, to a “scales of evil” philosophy, in which you allowed smaller evils for a greater good. You justified agreeing to censorship, on behalf of the Chinese government, saying that it was better to allow the Chinese citizens some access to information, rather than none. However, now China has its own viable search engines, so their citizens can get benign information through them. Those Chinese companies agreeing to censor for their government, will now take your place and rake in the dirty money from accompanying advertisement dollars; but your hands will be clean.

Your resolve to re-commit to your mission statement, regardless of the financial fall-out, is inspiring and refreshing. You willingly lost out on search engine accounts with unlimited advertising income, bypassing large sums of money now and in the future, in order to do what you felt and knew was right. In so doing, you have exposed censorship for what it really is – the truth intentionally hidden.

You realized and remembered that business isn’t just about quantity of sales. You know that it is also about human relations, a sense of purpose, customer service, social interaction with your world, and setting a good example. If China wants to try and keep their citizens in the dark and rule their lives for them, you, Google, are not going to facilitate that anymore – Hoorah!

The whole concept of your search engine is that you can freely search for any available information, to try and find the truth you are looking for. That is the product that you offer, and you’re not willing to sit back and see that corrupted any longer. The Chinese don’t care about truth, they will tell their citizens what truth they feel they need to know. America on the other hand, is all about trying to get to the truth of things. We may have a hard time finding and discerning it sometimes, but it’s not for lack of available information.

It was a few years after going public in 2004, that it seems for one ‘second’ you got caught up in that alluring, attractive quest for more largesse at the expense of your original goals. Your primary objective of providing an unobstructed, great product for the public, was overshadowed by your bottom line focus of ever-present product viability, so as to appease your stockholders and board members. Your stock holds such a great dollar value, I am empathize with the fact that there is pressure on you from many sides to do what is needed to show you can keep bringing in more profits, as well as proof of future deals to assure future cash flow. Pressures and demands on you to continue multiplying and dividing like crazy, had an effect on your outlook most likely. It was probably in trying to meet those demands that you lost a little bit of your self-identity, and what you stand for. Luckily you are young and resilient, and from the generation that is self-reflective enough to know when you’ve gone wayward. I admire your determination to stick to your ideals and your ability to be nimble enough to change direction to do so.

Likewise, I give you kudos for your up-to-the minute innovation and for what you have provided us consumers through your product. You have revolutionized the internet model with your search advertising that has led to individual business people making money through advertising on their own personal web pages. I believe making money, or seeking to make money, is a good thing. It has led to most of the great developments of our society, and has propelled us forward to the high standard of living that America enjoys. We’ve seen it clearly in such enterprises as the pharmaceutical industry with amazing drugs being discovered after years and years of research, experimentation, and trial and error. People produce at a high level when there is reward involved, it is the human condition.

However, if when seeking this gain, one compromises on their available product, lessening its value and worth, then they compromise their principles for the almighty dollar, power, or politics. In ‘Big Pharma’, the companies who come up with new drugs expect to be compensated and rightly so; but they maintain their part of the bargain with a high quality, effective drug that is worth a lot to people as it gives them back a greater quality of life.

Google, I hope that the return you have made to your commendable business practices, will lead to even more profits, advertising dollars, and future development potential for you. In my book, good guys do finish first. I am once again a big fan of yours, and I hope it stays that way as time goes on.

Yours Truly,

Christy Erb

P.S. As we’ve seen time and again throughout history, the pen is more powerful than the sword. China is deathly afraid of what information their people may get from your uncensored search engine – like the truth about Tiananmen Square. Hopefully in time, the Chinese people will become aware enough of this to rise up and demand unfettered access to the information highway, without being shot to death.

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Christy is from San Diego, California where she is a golf instructor and certified personal trainer.
www.ChristyErb.com.