Introduction by Sabine Niederer
Alessandro Ludovico – fresh issue of neural is out, with Yesman on the cover, so promising. Alessandro is a media researcher, media critic, and also a new media artist. He is famous by the work “Google will eat itself”. Also known for the  “Amazon Noir” project.

Alessandro
Thanks a lot for invitation: I will continue with Google discussion, the theories that came out from GWEI project. This project was done by 4 different people; Alessandro was in charge of the theories.  “I want to talk about the GWEI project and about unexpected problems we encountered after this art project. Also I will talk about the Google self referential side. I will try to prove that Google can become/ will establish its role as a public service”.  Therefore the title of the talk is:  “The Google paradigm: for the final dictator it is never enough”

Google establishes monopolies via their pervasiveness, coolness, and attracting functionality. They are error-proof and have an accelerated innovation rate where the word antitrust sounds unattractive.

Google does this by establishing rules that are flexible. Internally, their organizational motto of ‘freedom” turns out to be very effective.  Externally, products are light and convincing. As an example, contextual advertisement is mentioned. Their services are funny and attractive. They make up for a large part of Internet and they want to entertain us forever. There are options to debunk their perfect level of marketing, communication and strategies in our mass-based economy.

About the Google-will-eat-itself project (GWEI)
We started with principally focusing on Google’s way of online marketing. The analysis is that all corporations have to make cultural interfaces in order to have or create a capitol of attention. This becomes more and more precious. As Cory Doctorow stated: we are in an era of distraction.

We created an affective hack by establishing fake websites. This website(s) pretended to be about eCommerce and online marketing. These fake websites were aggregating marketing news websites. After a while, we submitted and subscribed to the Google AdSense program. For those who do not know AdSense: it lets you have textual and visual adds. Google pays money for every click on such an add. What we did then with the ads was that we opened a Swiss bank account that was linked to Google Shares (latest price). So, AdSense income was linked to buying Google shares. Alessandro now shows the actual account (not allowed to show in public, but we will do it anyways). It shows your earnings for every click. Google was giving us the money to buy itself (hence Google will eat itself). Why a Swiss bank account? Because Google is worth more than all the Swiss banks together. Alessandro now shows pictures of the exhibition. The motto of this exhibition was: “lets share their shares”. Google figured out our scheme after a while (via human and software tools they use) they mechanism. They started closing down our Google ads.

The software diagram is now showed. This software makes fraudulent clicks every time a visitor comes to site, sending Google the data as if the user had clicked on the advertisement. So, the software was simulating user behaviour. For us it was a scientific experiment. For me personally, it was also interaction, it was questioning how to define a fraudulent click, because it is the same data as a permitted click would be. It is impossible to distinguish. Who decides that it is a fraudulent action? There is no CCTV on your mouse clicks – but just data from a computer to a computer. GWEI is conceptual artwork, not to practically take over Google. Summarized in a nice calculation: The rate is 23 million years to take over the Google shares (in this project).

Some interesting problems during and after the project
1) We were invited to a conference by Google in half moon bay, California. They said: “Hi guys, we want to learn about what you are doing? Can we arrange a talk?” After a while, they were repeatedly asking the technical details of the software we used and then they disappeared. Maybe the conference never existed.

2) We were approached by a journalist – the chief tech journalist of Reuters – and he was going to make an interview. He was asking Google about our project. Google replied: “We don’t comment on any AdSense account. The journalist said: “Sorry, I don’t have the counter story, so no interview. No further replies.

3) We were also approached by Wired magazine. They were opening an art department.  For this first art department, they want to talk about the “GWEI” project. They were enthusiastic – we did an interview, we made colorful images and sent these images to Wired (page size).  Then they killed the issue. It turned out Google had its influence even on Wired advertisement.

4) We were often approached on Skype by anonymous people. Alessandro now acts out such a Skype conversation:

Guy:  hi
We: hi dear:
Guy: could get you into big trouble
Guy: it is against the law
We: yes, we know, do you know what they collect? So many things are against the law?
Guy: no, just want to know that you know what you are doing.
Guy: fraud is fraud, art or not
We: no we are not stealing. Also, art becomes history
Guy: the judge wont think so
We:  we will take the risk
Guy: Ok, your choice, just wanted to inform you about the risk.

Of course, artists are hoping for these reactions. But it is also sort of a cliche – law firm that defends the big company. Google responded by saying: Oke, we understand its art, but you have to stop now. Of course we never did.

About the Porcelain interface of Google
It is so clean in its interface – everybody likes this interface and it is widely recognized – these interfaces are becoming standard. Clean, rounded, known. But the interface is impenetrable – that is porcelain.  I was in Dublin for a lecture – somebody said to me that if I wanted, I could make a tour inside of Google. I did accept the invitation: in the belly of the beast, so to speak. I had the opportunity to look inside in Google and check the porcelain interface from within. Actually, the type of organization is a recurrent theme (freedom, young, cool to work there). You can see the colors inside the spaces in Google office in Dublin, They are always round- shaped, familiar. The brand is perceivable everywhere and in everything. Especially the G. It struck me. These four colors have influence in our visual life. Alessandro shows the logo of Google wave: it is rounded, smooth.

The Gateway
Beyond the browser interface there are other ways Google is spreading its interface. This gateway to Google becomes self-referential. If we look at Google as a dictator, then how can a dictator be fun for people? By influencing every choice we make? Google knows very well how to entertain Internet users. They periodically release new and effective services; people want them and more of them. It is not Microsoft-like monopoly. Rather, Google, uses their porcelain interface. It is shining and funny and everyone knows it; is familiar with it. Via this interface they are presenting themselves as a public serve. You buy a computer and then there is Google. Everything is light, easy and shining. Fast and undated, the cream of fun and the strawberry of results make the monopoly. The database of Google is very valuable. Most pages on the net are put through page rank algorithms. The website can be located and statistically analyzed; this is the secret dream of every Internet market incentive.

The point is that the user ignores all recorded data. They are hypnotized by interfaces and services. We are giving our data to Facebook without even thinking about it. But, unlike Facebook, this funny empire has another element: advertisement. It is its core business. Everyone can buy in on the AdSense program. Also, tons of people have become publishers. They accent to have ads in exchange for money via clicks. The final scenario is Google as the giant middleman, between advertisement and publishers and thereby sucks all information. Being in the middle, it makes the balance, but is it not a natural system, it is an economical system.

One example: Google mail
Established not because propaganda of 1 GB space, but the effective spam filter, you can be quite sure you can mail safely. Google don’t want to fight spam, because it makes their killer app possible. Googles’ mission: get info and make it accessible universal. This is comparable with the mission of the library of congress. But they are actually a public service. Google will never be. The book- scanning project is mentioned. The aim is to establish a public service. To be more precise: a privatized public service.

I will show a sarcastic video by onion. It is about the outcome of these services. A two minute-video about the opt-out village; http://www.theonion.com/content/video/google_opt_out_feature_lets_users
Who can build a prison like that? Only a public space can do that.

Conclusions
The Google effect: creating constituent on new business. the greatest enemy of a giant is the parasite. Think about creating Google with itself manually. If a parasite would suck money, they will kill the giant. We have to start decoding and disposing these mechanisms. In order to create cult, we need to create antibodies to  Google interfaces.

Questions

q:
How does competition show up in your analysis? We should also think about competition in companies and product. There are principles in these products by Google. It is a competition. Is web product logic in your analysis?

a: Competition is not abstract concept. Competition exists if there are comparable conditions. When you have gained the Google position of monopoly, there is competition anymore. They have a very successful model os searching them expanding this condition, I cannot think about a real competitor of Google. They can really built new services – Google programming languages. It is not only comprehensive, but it is made by Google, so it was on every technology – it is building on its position. The program of Google is adding this position. I would push more on the cultural side. it s funny, we are pleased by Google. I am a little scared on the final step: becoming a public service (example of Google books). Disappearing of libraries:  culturally we can accept a privatized public service. We should not be happy with that!