Google gave up their exclusivity clause where they did prohibit publishers to run other contextual ads from a Google competitor on the same page together with a Google AdSense ad only about one year ago.

This clause was specifically added because of YPN and to keep other potential competitors out who might could have entered the market, namely Amazon, Microsoft and eBay.

Google is not soooo open as David tries to convince everybody who listens to this interview. They are only open if and where it serves their own business interest. If they would be so open, my is there no open search platform?

Nice talk, but at the end of the day will you realize that Google is also just another public company and that their execs also just cook with plain and simple H2O like the rest of us (figure of speech).

Cheers!

Carsten--I think you're on to something in suggesting that some tech companies, especially dominant ones, use the idea of "openness" as a mask for their strategic agenda. Despite all the rhetoric about the fruits of collaboration, business remains a zero-sum game.

Alain
Tech Confidential

Just to make sure that I came across the right way.

I don't mind Google open up a thing or two and actually appreciate it and applause them for doing so, but I don't like the notion where Google tries to portrait itself as this open and transparent company who shares everything with the community. They do not, never did and probably will never do it either. :)

However, I and others are grateful for the things they are open about and do share with the community and can only encourage them to do more of it instead of less.