Look, there’s a lot of crap floating around today about Google and whether or not the “Don’t Be Evil” mantra even has a place within the company after they agreed to release a censored version of Google for Chinese users.

The company has long drawn a moral line on business matters. It’s done things right, almost from inception, which is why people give them the benefit of the doubt these days. This fiasco, however, is going to change a lot of opinions. Today is G-Day — the day Google declared to the world that they are no better than the Microsofts, Enrons, and other shady companies who’ve been about nothing but the bottom line. Face the facts: Google does not care about indexing the world’s information and making it readily available, and they don’t care if they’re evil. They care about making buckets full of money, which is not a bad desire. The only real problem I have with is that they’re still spinning, saying a crippled Google is better than no Google at all. I disagree. If you’re going to go along and censor information that people have every right to access, then you’re no better than any other software company out there who is about the bottom line.

Just admit it, guys. You’re not a search company anymore — you’re a growing media conglomerate.  The backlash is going to be a lot worse if you keep pretending to be something you’re not.