Michael Gracie

Google and eBay had a tiff, and it looks like eBay got their point across. But it brings up a bigger issue in my mind - how easy it is to advertise on the web can also be a web advertising broker’s undoing.

eBay pulled all its ads, in a heartbeat. Combine that with the ease of communication the internet provides (and how quickly information spreads), and you see how one big screwup can really cause pain. Imagine a bunch of web advertisers banding together to pull their ads from a broker because, say, their prices are artificially inflated, they lack transparency, or they provide terse responses to customer service questions (although I’m sure no brokers would dare do such a thing ;-).

As for calling Google “wimps,” and eBay a “bully”… Google, wimps? Someone bullying them? Come on.

UPDATE: Another example.