"Google encourages promiscuity!" WSJ throws down its glove!

Duel!

Robert Thomson, the editor of The Wall Street Journal spews this and many other quotables in this article about news aggregation.

Some other jewels: "There is no doubt that certain websites are best described as parasites or tech tapeworms in the intestines of the internet."

"Google argues they drive traffic to sites, but the whole Google sensibility is inimical to traditional brand loyalty. Google encourages promiscuity -- and shamelessly so -- and therefore a significant proportion of their users don't necessarily associate that content with the creator. Therefore revenue that should be associated with the creator is not garnered."

"There is a collective consciousness among content creators that they are bearing the costs and that others are reaping some of the revenues -- inevitably that profound contradiction will be a catalyst for action and the moment is nigh."

And finally, "readers have been socialised - wrongly, I beleive - that much content should be free."

While he has some valid points, I think that ship has sailed. Sorry. I doubt the moment is nigh, after all. Methinks it's long gone.