Rumours have been surfacing for the last few days that Google might be buying FeedBurner for\u00a0around $100M.<\/p>\n
Listed below you will find 7 reasons Google and Feedburner are a perfect match, and 7 equally compelling reasons we should be concerned.<\/b><\/p>\nMatch Made In Heaven?<\/h2>\n
There are some very positive reasons that this is an ideal match and I am going to concentrate on those first:-<\/p>\n
In many ways I am a Google fan, I use their search primarily, I use Adwords, Adsense, have their toolbar installed, couldn\u2019t live without Gmail, and I am trying my best to not get sucked into 200 feeds in Google Reader.<\/p>\n
I am also a FeedBurner Fan, I have a paid subscription to their \u201cTotal Stats\u201d, and have developed a few simple Feedflares.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately I am not overly enthusiastic about Google buying FeedBurner for a number of very serious reasons.<\/p>\n
But what if I want to recommend the product, but feel it\u2019s unethical
\nto do so without telling my readers that I\u2019m getting paid for it:<\/p>\n\u201cClick this button, it\u2019s a really cool product (full disclosure: I
\nreceive a commission of $2 if you follow this link)\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\nFor me this is a case of deja vu, because I was raising the same questions about the\u00a0referral units and disclosure<\/a>\u00a0back in January.<\/li>\n
- I have raised issues and technical problems a number of times in the\u00a0Google Toolbar Buttons Group, and no help is forthcoming.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Whilst Feedburner support is currently better than Google\u2019s, I can\u2019t see their support improving if they are acquired.<\/li>\n
- Fractured Lines of Communication<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Feedburner are currently proactive in monitoring the blogosphere, and reacting by giving feedback \u2013 whilst I am sure Google monitor blogs heavily, unless you are a high traffic blog it is very rare to get any feedback<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
What I write today probably won\u2019t make the slightest bit of difference to whether a purchase is made, or the eventual outcome. I am not a gadget blog with 600K+ subscribers \u2013 this won\u2019t be an\u00a0Applegate<\/a>.<\/p>\n
FeedBurner have a massive market share, very little competition, but very low penetration compared to the total number of active real blogs worldwide.<\/p>\n
Before being acquired I would really prefer them to have some very healthy competition. Competition stimulates growth, awareness and features.<\/p>\n
So do you really want Google to buy FeedBurner?<\/b><\/p>\n
Update<\/b><\/h3>\n
Techcrunch has managed to confirm<\/a>\u00a0that this deal is likely to go through and it looks like it is\u00a0topping Techmeme<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Tris Hussey discusses FOG (Fear of Google)<\/a>, targeted ads, and analytics integration.<\/p>\n
Watch Mojo\u00a0wonders whether this will scare aware major media brands currently using Feedburner and\u00a0Heather Green at Business Week\u00a0has similar concerns.<\/p>\n
Marshall Kirkpatrick<\/a>\u00a0focuses on the synergies.<\/p>\n
The Alarm Clock\u00a0has a list of 10 positive reasons.<\/p>\n
Sam Sethi who first found out about the acquisition\u00a0concentrates on the monetisation angle. That is a huge factor, as Feedburner have noted in my comments they are \u201cgradually rolling out\u201d the FAN advertising network I think mainly due to inventory problems.<\/p>\n
Lots of people are mentioning integration with Analytics for convenience, but none are really touching on what I highlighted, the ability to finally track an RSS subscription because you would be able to place your Analytics code on a Feedburner page, and possibly have Google allow you to track someone actually completing the signup process in Google Reader.<\/p>\n
With Google behind it however, I am not sure other players would follow suit (Ask\/Bloglines, Yahoo or MSN).<\/p>\n
Tony Hung also picked up on something\u00a0I have been thinking about for a while. When will Microsoft or Yahoo start looking to buy paid review services such as Pay Per Post or ReviewMe.<\/p>\n
Microsoft and Yahoo have never been overly critical of either service. Microsoft through Edelman were giving out laptops not too long ago to top bloggers to review Vista. I have suggested in the past, mainly in comments in various places, is that the best way for Microsoft to market Vista would be to give 10,000 bloggers a copy of Vista, they could even pay them $10 as a bonus for their time.<\/p>\n
That would be much better than the Google method of paying bloggers $75 per hour to test out Blogger in usability studies.<\/p>\n
Geek News Central<\/a>\u00a0is worried about Google tracking everything \u2013 lets face it, 90% of what you do on the net, you are probably being tracked by 5 or more different companies. Every shopping site knows what you buy, and so do the credit card companies. Your ISP knows everything. Every ad network is tracking you.<\/p>\n
One of these days you will be able to use your browsing habits in court \u2013 \u201cHey judge, I was browsing the net, just ask Google\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
Update 2 (Important)<\/b><\/h3>\n
I am not the only blogger expressing concerns, even blog networks are showing some real concern about the acquisition.<\/p>\n
As an example, Aaron Brazell who is the man who makes 200 B5 Media blogs tick, and who has a really close relationship with Feedburner has now written an\u00a0Open Letter to Google About Feedburner<\/a>\u00a0. Read it and give it a\u00a0Digg as well.<\/p>\n
I would like to stress again I am a supporter of both Google and Feedburner, and love many of their services, but some things do fill me with concern, and many of those concerns are shared.<\/p>\n
If you enjoyed this post, please consider\u00a0giving it a Digg.<\/p>\n
Also Read:<\/h2>\n