Amazon Eats up Abe

The biggest forces on the Web get very different press.

Google is no longer the media darling. It's under attack for its privacy policy hypocrisy and the Google Street project. And much of last week's excitement about Cuil comes from a primal urge for a Google beater.

Contrast this with Amazon which just keeps on getting bigger and bigger. Revenues are growing, its ebook Kindle is actually selling well and now it's bought up Abebooks, the online used bookseller network. But, the media reaction is benign with little to no venom. You get the sense that the media like Amazon.

Why?

It could be the profile of Bezos is much softer than the Google boys who've been very flash with their money (Think Bezos and my first association is his desk made from a $10 door; think the Google founders and it's their party plane).

Another reason is the privacy issue. With Amazon we're happier to share data about what we spend and browse. Google is much more closely woven into how we live our lives digitally that every miss-step they make on privacy issues has a rising resonance with us. It's not turning people away from Google (in fact where can we go?) but its souring their profile bit by bit because they themselves set such high expectations.