Comment It's important that this is an auction (Score 2, Insightful) 149
There is an important difference between what Google is doing and what television stations do when they run ads for their own shows: the TV stations don't sell their ads in an auction market (at least not usually).
If Google bids for AdWords (either with funny money or somehow with real money) then it is bidding against its own customers in an auction for its own products. Bidding in your own auction ("shill bidding") has long been considered a fraudulent practice.
If Google bids for AdWords (either with funny money or somehow with real money) then it is bidding against its own customers in an auction for its own products. Bidding in your own auction ("shill bidding") has long been considered a fraudulent practice.
