What's Good For The Goose, Ain't (Apparently) Good For Google

The company has, according to news site Cnet, refused to speak to the organization's reporters till July of next year. Why the cone of silence? A Cnet reporter reported fun facts she found out about Google CEO Eric Schmidt simply by googling his name.

When asked about a slashdot blurb on the dust-up last week, a Google spokesman would not comment.

Fair's fair, folks. We all know information on the internet is ubiquitous and privacy well-nigh non-existent. Google wants folks to use its search engine to find information, but also wants control over how that information (about its own) is used.

Not surprisingly, this controversy stoked Google proponents and critics alike. Reaction runs the gamut from Jeremy Zawodny's unambiguous posting Please Shut Up About Google and Cnet to stories in the NY Times, LA Times. You name it.

Note to Google: Ignore the adage, sometimes there IS such a thing as bad ink.

In the kerfuffle, one interesting discovery: Cindy McCaffrey, the PR veteran who had led Google's corp com efforts for five years has left the company. That makes things clearer. It's hard to imagine this sh*tstorm happening on Cindy's watch. She's a pro-- although one who doesn't need a day job anymore.

Anyway, many think it's time for the Google guys to smarten up. The world is starting to detect a whiff of hubris that's typically more reminiscent of the big boys up north.