I for one am not so impressed by Google's stance, at least not yet.
Is the annoncement coming from Google(US) where it is less risky to take such a stance, or Google worldwide where value driven actions such as these would not be as appreicated in certain regions.
An example already brought up, is Google stance on issues related to China, where they've not been so resilent in keeping with their own values.
If Google wants to play this hand, thats fine, I even hope they take up bigger causes like human rights, and back it up with actions. But a two paragraph blog post simply will not do for me.
> much less from google
Why?
it's probably because of the size of the company and what they're risking by having an opinion on this non-business issue.
Exactly. Breaking it down, what do they gain? Possibly some good will of the more liberal users. But powerful religious figures could just as easily (and almost certainly will) turn it into something of a pr nightmare that will ultimately affect some of google's users.
I do wonder if I would be similarly impressed with it if their stance were the opposite, and whether I would feel comfortable supporting them by using their products and services afterward. Very gutsy decision to come out on a divisive issue like this.