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Google and Firefox: Cause for Concern?

November 7th, 2007

A blog post on Cnet suggested that the Firefox browser “may not be as independent as previously thought.” Firefox is free, and its maker, Mozilla, is a non-profit (a designation that in reality is functionally meaningless). It’s a good enough browser, has some useful plug-ins, and it has gained popularity among those who just don’t want to have anything to do with Microsoft.

I personally don’t begrudge Microsoft their billions, and don’t have a big problem with Mozilla raking in a little moolah as well. Even open source projects need money, and it has to come from somewhere. The Cnet report notes that the majority of Mozilla’s revenues come from Google, as a result of Google being the default search engine in the Firefox search bar. There are those out there who apparently criticize Mozilla for this relationship, but it’s a legitimate business relationship, and no doubt, one on which Mozilla’s very existence depends. Of course, Mozilla Foundation takes donations as well, but any software company — profit or non — which depends solely on donations just isn’t going to make it in the long run, no matter how trendy, cool, politically correct, or anti-Microsoft they may be.

An interesting note in the blog post is an entire section on Firefox’s ad blocking extension, which blocks most banner ads, the viewing of which, as some would have you believe, leads to dementia, erectile dysfunction, and bird flu. The blog questions why Firefox does not roll in the AdBlock Plus extension as a primary feature. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you! Obviously, doing so would cause all that wonderful Google money to dry up very quickly. The post implies that there is a “dangerous conflict of interest”– but the writer fails to remember that even nonprofit organizations have to make money.

Those who go to great lengths to avoid online ads of any sort, and claim that they should not exist should remember that it is precisely these advertisements that have become the fuel of the Internet. People working for free are not going to get us to Web 3.0. Money will. And that money comes from advertising.
ZDNet’s Larry Dignan and Dan Farber both took a look at the issue as well. Larry shows us the figures. It’s pretty clear that without Google, Mozilla would not exist. Mozilla gets 85 percent of its revenues from Google, and in fact, Mozilla isn’t just a bunch of volunteer geeks — it’s a big business in and of itself, with an office to run and payroll to meet. Dan also weighs in, noting that “Google is the new Microsoft”, but notes that much of what the Cnet poster is up in arms about actually makes sense for all concerned. Google engineers contribute code to Firefox, but this is no evidence of anything shady — that’s how open source works.

A TechDirt blog responds to the Cnet posting and sheds some insight and reason onto the issue. While the Cnet blogger implies that there’s something underhanded about the relationship between Mozilla and Google, the TechDirt blogger brings out the inherent fallacy of this argument, calling the relationship “win-win.” And he’s right, Google wins because it sells more ad clicks, and Mozilla wins because they get some of Google’s money, which they use to make Mozilla better, and as a result, Mozilla users win, too.

Via Itworld.com