With the launch of extensions for Google’s Chrome browser one of the most interesting and potentially troubling pieces of the Web has popped back into the picture: Google’s Sidewiki.
What is Sidewiki? It’s a creation by Google that allows comments by anyone on any Web site. Sounds innocuous enough, but in the hands of any lurker on the Web with a vendetta against a company or a competitor, it may send Web messaging into a tailspin.
Picture this: Someone running Sidewiki goes to your site looking to buy your product and on your homepage, in the Sidewiki window, is a comment by a rival on your high prices – with a link to their site. If you are a more controversial company or blogger, a systematic campaign could be build against you of Sidewiki commenters.
“Just like Google bombing, in an attempt to influence the top Google result for a specific search term, I suspect people will quickly master the art of Sidewiki bombing as they attempt to get their comment at the top of the Sidewiki comments on key pages,” wrote Adam Turner of ITWire.com.
When it was first launched earlier this year, Sidewiki caused a scare and a bit of unease, but failed to have gain much traction. The addition of it to the extensions of Google Chrome, which make for a one-click addition to your browser rather than the clunkier add-on to the Google Toolbar that it was, could see it grow in popularity.
Furthermore, Google has some rules built in to make sure that people play fair – in theory. According to its’ terms of service:
If you believe that someone is violating these policies, use the “Report Abuse” button within Sidewiki. We’ll review your report and take action if appropriate. Just because you disagree with certain material or find it to be inappropriate doesn’t mean we’ll remove it. We understand that our users have many different points of view, and we take this into consideration when reviewing reports of abuse. Although not all reports will result in removal, we do rely on our users to tell us about materials that may be violating our policies.
That’s tricky language to navigate: “We understand that our users have many different points of view, and we take this into consideration…”
Initial impact I think will be limited because, while Google dominates the world of search, its footprint with both Chrome and its apps are small, though influential. It would take a significant shift in user habits for Sidewiki to hit the mainstream. In essence it comes with the baggage that savvy Web users are going to be both aware of it and able to manipulate it. Ultimately Google might find limiting the manipulation of such an app in the wild, more trouble than it’s worth.
If you are a site owner, you need to be prepared for the baggage Google Sidewiki will bring and be prepared to spend additional time monitoring your brand on the web. Policing Sidewiki could become a daily routine for those who are sensitive about their brand’s image. The bottom line is that Google, not you, has ultimate control over what appears there and it, not you, will determine which comments to boot.
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Has Sidewiki Trouble Been Reignited?
