Chairman and CEO of C-Change Media Inc., John Byrne said in a recent blog post, that Google has strayed too far from who they are: the search giant. “What has happened to Google is an all-too-familiar problem that plagues so many companies that become big and successful: Awash in cash, they begin pursuing all kinds of other opportunities, neglecting the core product that established their greatness.”

There is definitely a small army of glitches that intermittently arises to make it difficult for businesses to maintain consistency with their online marketing efforts. Google does a good job addressing issues publicly but related problems seem to resurface and some even say “Search Still Sucks“. I think they are up against a lot of challenging moving parts. When asked about providing more transparency when it comes to Google’s changing algorithms, Matt Cutts pointed out:

we don’t think it’s unreasonable for any business to have some trade secrets, not least because we don’t want to help spammers and crackers game our system. If people who are trying to game search rankings knew every single detail about how we rank sites, it would be easier for them to ‘spam’ our results with pages that are not relevant and are frustrating to users — including porn and malware sites.

Daniel Tunkelang defended the level of transparency Google provides in his blog yesterday.

Google search is not perfect. Can we expect it to be? If so, then John Byrne’s argument is irrelevant. If so, then Google should only work to provide a flawless user experience. Focus. But is it fair to expect Google to not get involved with social media, check-ins, and mobile? Those things have a lot to do with search and enhancing the user experience. There are so many apps and options for consumers that if you don’t have a hand in where the future is going, you’ll be left out to dry and miss major opportunities. Although I do have to sometimes laugh at how Google seems to have a response to every new product and service that comes out (Oh, Apple’s subscription service sucks? Google One Pass, anyone?), can you blame them for trying to keep up?

It’s like what happens when an underground band surfaces and starts getting mass attention (and paid) — they’re labeled sellouts. And often, it’s true because they probably change their whole look and artistic direction (artistic vision becomes money maker … cookie cutter formula for the masses). OK, so that’s not a great comparison. So here’s the better argument: it’s like what happens when a band changes up their sound on a new album or maybe even on just a song. After years of doing the same thing, they branch out and play with new ideas, experience new growth, see the world differently … fans become offended and, here again, their favorite band is a sellout — untrue to who they are, betraying fans and the whole scene. I say, it doesn’t mean they abandon who they are; it means they find other areas worthwhile and relatable. I say, cut Google a little slack. Can you blame them for thinking about the major influencers on the Internet and how that affects search?