Is Google an ethical company? For many years, it was believed that they were (at least to a large extent), but over the last decade that facade has crumbled. If they’re not truly ethical, are we obliged to still be ethical when dealing with them?
Rand Fishkin is one of the best (and most ethical) marketers around, and his recent statements are an emphatic “no”. In a recent video that he posted on LinkedIn, he said:
I now agree with a lot of folks who engaged in manipulation of Google that there was no reason to follow their arbitrary code of ethics when, as was clear from their behavior over the last 25 years, they have no code of ethics and they will do anything to make more money and exploit people and to abuse the trust that we give them.
I see two things to take from this.
First, yes, you should be less afraid of what Google and others say is the “right” thing to do, when they’re unwilling to do the right thing themselves. Don’t do foolish things that will get you penalized, but don’t follow every word from Google.
Second, as seen in many of the comments on Rand’s video, trust (with humans) is still your primary currency. You can play games with Google, but at the end of the day you need to work with real people and help solve their problems, and that’s worth far more than tweaking your ideals on how to play nice with giant corporations.
Your trust with big corporations is likely falling quickly, but the trust you build with other humans is growing more vital by the day.
Check out Rand’s (very short) video for more.
