We’re not afraid of Google!

The cover story of the April 9th issue of BusinessWeek asks: "Who's Afraid of Google?"

We are NOT afraid of Google. We are NOT afraid of change. Point of fact, Google has changed our lives -- for the better, as consumers.

There are entrenched interests in healthcare and media, and change is never easy-- but it is the price we pay for progress. (We are not still riding in a horse and buggy--and thank goodness for it.)

CareTALK works with EVERYONE, and that has not been hindered by our relationship with Google at all. Hysteria aside by those who lunch at Michael's, CareTALK fully endorses Google's functioning as a change agent across deeply entrenched industries.

The one thing we, at CareTALK, can say is that we have been treated with the utmost RESPECT by Google, Inc. We have personally witnessed and experienced that it does not matter in the least whether you are a startup or a Madison Avenue/Hollywood titan.

So... how does that change agent, progressive stance apply to healthcare -- and where is it more needed than in healthcare?

78 Million American citizens are turning 60 at the rate of 10,000/day. Year in and year out, ad nauseum, we are told by politicians, employers, hospitals, and the pharma industrial complex, that consumers have to be responsible, proactive, pay more for less. Where is the RESPECT and service?

BIG QUESTION: Who has or will arm consumers with the information and management resources to take on these increasingly complex responsibilities?

For boomers worldwide, and those who depend upon this generation economically, the answer for nine years -- since it's birth--has been Google, Inc. Notwithstanding all of the brands, commercials, promotions and fads, this company has integrated education, service, and RESPECT of the consumer -- their primary goal. No wonder consumers trust and rely on Google, Inc.

Since the Ronald Regan Era, we have heard that something needs to be done about healthcare. Every four and six years, the issue is trod out as a safe and entertaining issue for campaign chit-chat. Then after the conventions are over, the die is cast, we wake up to 40 Million American citizens facing healthcare risks and possible bankruptcy -- the great uninsured. If you are lucky, you can be born uninsured and die uninsured without the basic human right every modern nation provides its citizens. What other recourse is there for consumers to manage and arm themselves with the information resources they need at the granular level-- than Google, Inc? Whether you won the lottery, are insured, or uninsured, Google's search prowess helps one navigate and source the information necessary to MANAGE our fractured healthcare system. Google, Inc. RESPECTS the consumer. They do not distinguish between haves and have-nots. Instead of balkanizing the universe of information and people, this company is seeking ways to level the playing field.

Now, we can either criticize and throw road blocks in their path or find ways to collaborate and partner with this company that is forcing progress in pivotal areas where it is desperately needed. LEADERSHIP is sorely needed and sorely lacking in the world today.

Think Katrina.
Think the war in Iraq.
Think healthcare -- CareTALK's domain.

They are not perfect, but who is? Google Inc's leadership and courage to take on the challenges that face consumers, voters, students, and people of every walk of life who can and can't afford an increasingly out of control university tuition--second only to runaway healthcare costs--should be rewarded and supported.

Google helps us manage and solve the problems of modern life. The world is coming at consumers very fast and the pace of innovation has accelerated to such a point that technology is creating more stress than decreasing it. Managing the information flow is paramount in modern life.

Progress is painful. However, information should be ubiquitous in the modern world.

We are with you Google, Inc!

We have confidence the economic issues for media companies/partners will be sorted out. However, we are also glad that lobbyists, investment bankers, men in suits at The Four Seasons, and other dictators will never have things as good as they did before Google, Inc.-- at the expense of the consumer.

Good.