Google, fighting hard to complete its search ad deal with Yahoo, wants you to know that it has an institutional commitment to transparency. And a personal one too: Speaking at the SMX East conference today in New York, Google global head of advertising and marketing Tim Armstrong went so far as to announce his email address to the attendees. Hint: it's his first name.
But in an argument that somehow doesn't seem destined to convince the Department of Justice to quickly sign off on the deal, Armstrong argued that search is only a tiny portion of "what happens online."
“We want to be an important player, but it’s not a Google ecosystem,” Armstrong said.
Translation: Google doesn't control the internet (yet).
Google voluntarily postponed the deal for four months to give the Justice Department a chance to review it. On Friday it said it would "briefly" extend that delay. The deal was originally meant to begin Oct. 11.
What happens if Justice takes longer than a few more weeks to complete its investigation? Says Armstrong:
See Also:
