AC's articles seem to capture prominent spots in Google. The same as Wikipedia and other popular websites. However, something always caught my eye.

AC's Board of Directors lists several individuals with backgrounds related to Google:

• Patrick Keane: "Prior to joining CBS, Keane spent more than four years at Google, Inc. He served as Head of Advertising Sales Strategy at Google, overseeing the group responsible for developing and managing the strategic plans and relationships critical to growing Google's advertising customer base. He was the original founder and programmer of Zeitgeist, Google's annual thought leadership forum. Keane also built and led Google's North American field marketing team, an organization comprising industry marketing, sales analytics, sales marketing, and corporate events."
• Ron Conway: "Ron Conway is the founding general partner at Angel Investors, LP. Angel Investors LP has two Funds with committed capital of $175M and invested in the early stages of Google....."
• Rich LeFurgy: "Rich LeFurgy is the founder of Archer, an online and brand advertising consultancy based in San Francisco......Current and past Archer clients include: America Online, Feedster, Google"

I am not accusing AC of anything shady. Actually, this could be a wise decision to choose individuals experienced with related mediums. I am just wondering what is your opinion on a content company's relationship with its advertiser in this manner?

Comments (1)

Dan November 03, 2009

The reality is, this is the way corporate America works. Executives are measured by how many associations, organizations and boards that they're members of. They advance by how much influence they have, even if it's a conflict of interest. Is it fair? That depends on your point of view. If you're a business, it gives you a controlling edge. For the end-user/consumer it may stifle creativity and fair trade

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