I agree for now. Google needs to protect their bread and butter, paid search, which requires advertisers to have a lot of trust that Google does not act in any way creating a conflict of interest.
However, right now is the good times for Google. The true test is to see how a company (or real people) acts during the tough times. Google's time as king of the mountain will only last so long, and it will be interesting to see how they handle their descent when the time comes.
Good point. However, even if times get tough for Google, the basic principle (a large number of advertisers that trust them are worth more than a smaller number of referrals) still stands. For Google to start screwing their advertisers, times would have to get so tough they'd want to throw their entire business model overboard. Somehow I doubt that will happen.
(and I say this as someone who's not particularly fond of Google to boot)
However, right now is the good times for Google. The true test is to see how a company (or real people) acts during the tough times. Google's time as king of the mountain will only last so long, and it will be interesting to see how they handle their descent when the time comes.