[Must Read Clips] Carr on Google, China

One piece from Monday’s Times that’s absolutely worth a read is David Carr’s excellent summary of where Google currently stands in its showdown with China. So many great themes in this Google piece – the non-desire as content editor, search versus content, privacy and responsibility – that this one article could be very useful to describe where the company is these days overall.

But while Google has positioned itself in court as a global utility — a company that brings smart results from dumb pipes — it does more than search. Its results pages support a lucrative advertising business. The Google News service is a go-to source for consumers, and 24 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute. And the company is undertaking a vast effort to serve as a searchable repository for scanned books.

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In China, Google and other Internet companies act as virtual publishers for millions of people using the Internet to connect with others and to question the excesses of their government. In a sense, Google is championing the rights of all the citizens of the Internet kingdom.

Give it a read, seriously. You’ll feel smarter-er.