Blogger Buzz has posted that the story from late last week, where a BlogSpot user said he was told to remove the MSN Search box from his blog, never happened.
They make three main points: You can use any other company’s legal services, whether from Microsoft or Flickr; there was never a request sent to the blogger; and they did not take down his blog.
So, what happened? The blogger in question, RJ Dohnert, has moved his blog to WordPress, minus the post where he accuses Google. He has posted an explanation, saying that he is quiting all Google services. He says he removed the post from the WordPress blog because it was getting too spammed.
As far as Im concerned its a dead issue, I gave Google what they requested, I went with a blogging service that neither Google nor Microsoft own and I can link to any search engine I want. WordPress is a new beginning, Im one of those Im willing to let the past go and move on and not dwell on it.
Obviously, he’s implying that Google asked him to use a different service. I have no idea what really happened, it is a case of he said/they said. While Google’s explanation sounds more trustworthy, and the story never made much sense in the first place, I have to concede that Google has never hesitated to lie in the past, and has used up much of the benefit of the doubt they previously earned. However, I do trust the Blogger folks and I do trust Matt Cutts when he stands up for them, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt.
I’m huge fans of the Blogger team, and I don’t know too many positive people who don’t like Matt Cutts. And, obviously, I’m a really obsessive Google fan. However, when it comes to the subject of honesty, Google’s previous actions have given me a dark cynicism towards trusting them at their word. Forget how Googlers feel about that; it makes me sad.
Hopefully someone will understand why I cheered audibly when I read this.
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Nathan Weinberg writes the popular InsideGoogle blog, offering the latest news and insights about Google and search engines.
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