Unjournalism

Google shared a thoughtful, level-headed response to the New York Times’ fascinating story on DecorMyEyes, the online retailer that seems to find a business benefit in treating customers like dirt.

The focus of the NYT story was the retailer’s assertion that negative reviews and commentary on the Web greatly improve the retailer’s search ranking and site traffic — and are a hell of a lot easier to come by than glowing reviews. But a response from Get Satisfaction, the customer-service website mentioned in the NYT piece, casts doubt on the evil retailer’s claims.

Further, Google (heard of it?) offered a detailed explanation of the simple steps it could have taken to address schemes by evil retailers like DecorMyEyes as well as the more reasonable steps it did take.

If those two responses don’t restore at least some of your faith in the Web’s defenses against weasels like the guy who runs DecorMyEyes, perhaps you’re too cynical for your own good.

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