I tell you, sometimes it’s amazing just how a message can totally be twisted and turned depending on who you hear it from.

I wonder if there is politics involved in this search engine dilemma regarding the oil spill.  I mean, let’s consider this video from CNN.  Talk about ignorance on their part, we we’re suppose to trust their opinions.  This is wrong on their part and when you listen to this video and break it down, they are doing exactly what they are accusing others of doing.  WHAT?!!

CNN’s Own Incompetence and Blame

Ok, so there’s this video on their site that went live a few hours ago.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2010/06/06/nr.bp.ad.space.cnn?hpt=Sbin

CNN Suggests Google and BP are sharing money and laughs to control information to the American Public

During this video, CNN’s discusses several times on how BP is spending money to basically monopolize the search results and ‘push’ other stuff down.  It discusses how this company is spending an unknown amount of money per day and how companies like Google are actually accepting this money, and in turn ‘placing’ them on the top of the search results almost inconspicuously in a very litely shaded area, at the top.

In turn, CNN discusses how they are controling the information by canabilizing the information on their site, in turn controlling the truth.

In other words, BP, Google, Yahoo and Bing are all in this for profit and deliver only skewed information to the public.  That’s exactly the message I got delivered from this video.  Thank You CNN for the TRUTH.

I’m not here to defend BP.  They are merely conducting a PR campaign and providing information.  I checked out their site.  It’s skewed in their favor, discussing all of their wonderful clean up efforts.  They provide government links to sites about the beaches and wildlife.  Not bad.  It’s still slanted.

Let’s take a look at this BP ad that is supposedly providing skewed, monopolistic information about the oil spill.

CNN – Are you REALLY suggesting this when we EASILY can get the information you can only find a moron expert to ‘estimate’?

YUP, that’s it.  BP is really trying hard to buy it’s way into controlling the online media and push down the truth, as CNN has suggested.  No, it’s clearly deceptive here in their messaging why their site is skewed in their favor.  They are telling us that their site is about them, how they are helping.  Whether they really are or aren’t is the question here CNN, it’s their message.  To them, they believe they are helping and being transparent.

So, CNN says that they have no idea how much BP is spending per day.  Some so called expert estimates it could be at least $10,000 per day.  What?  Is that really a lot?

According to SpyFu.com, an online tool us marketers use to gain competitive information, tells me exactly what BP is spending on a daily basis for their ENTIRE online campaign.  Granted, this isn’t 100% accurate, but provides data from May 2010.  Wow, CNN is WAY, WAY, WAY off, like around 500% over projected!  Come on.

So, you know anything about Pay Per Click Advertising?  That top spot, for a search of [oil spill] ANYONE can buy, for CHEAP!  It’s not like BP is making a large PR push to monopolize the Internet searches.  I checked.

It’s $1.66 for that keyword according to Spyfu.com.  Come on, I pay more per click for [courier service] than that with my national Same Day Delivery company.

CNN – Don’t Call the Kettle Black

So, as CNN discusses, this is wrong for BP to do this, and eluding to Google, Yahoo and Bing.  Let’s consider what was not discussed during this segment.

Pay Per Click yields about 20% of the traffic, compare to Google’s integrated mainstream organic results.  NO ONE CAN PAY for ORGANIC Results.  The TOP results are NEWS.  80% of the traffic will click one of those results.

Next, BP’s top position in PPC will enjoy sharing some of that 20%, and experts such as Howie Jacobson, author of Adwords for Dummies, has indicated that the top PPC spot doesn’t always outclick spot #2 or #3.

So how much is BP really putting forward here?

Don’t Be Evil

I mean Google’s moto, DON’T BE EVIL and their recent exit in China indicated they would never, ever, ever allow for any company to skew their search engine, for no amount of money, ever.  They built their business on a model that offered organic, unbias, democratic results.

Bottom line is that the evidence is clear that CNN is the culprit of skewing the data and has in fact shot themselves in the foot by suggesting other’s are doing it, and in the very discussions they themselves only tell you what they think is important to create a controversial story.  Nothing new.  Just unethical, that’s all.

Alright, so again I’m not happy with BP here, but come on CNN.  This isn’t about them buying their way up on the search engines to skew the American public about the truth, this is about CNN playing a pity party with the American population and limiting the information to pursuade the population into believing their is a collaborative corruption here, in turn portraying a message that other’s such as Google have veared away from what is simply right.

Come on guys.  Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, CNN.

Don’t Be Evil.  Tell the Truth.  This is SO not News Worthy when the entire truth is told.