Does Google Know Too Much?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Derek on June 9, 2007 at 5:22am

I used to work for Protective Services in Texas back in the late 80's. I did database programming, and I was amazed at the "profiles" one could build by combining lots of data and analyzing it. That was all manually entered data.

Now, with all the automated tools to gather data, yes it is scary.

But, I feel it's no more scarier than someone hiring a Private Investigate to follow you around, taking notes. If you are doing "right", you should have nothing to fear - the PI will have a lot of boring notes.

Now, selling those notes to nefarious businesses and people - that's where is gets scary. If someone wanted to know where you might be at a certain time - due to the notes - that's scary. If someone knew I would be on the other side of town on Monday between 8 and 12, they have fours hours to plan something. Or, if they knew I'd pass thru a desolate area of town, well, you get the picture.

The best I can do it leave a "clean-looking" footprint..

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Bill Cammack on June 9, 2007 at 7:19am

Unfortunately, there's no way around it. If you're not using google products, someone else is. On top of that, everything's becoming about connectivity and people are creating new sites and widgets specifically designed to integrate with google products. You can either get with the program or jump through myriad hoops trying to get your contact list into linkedin, for instance. :/

It's like the videogaming industry. Google's becoming a platform, like xbox or genesis. People code games to work on the xbox so you have to have an xbox to play those games.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Flamekebab on June 9, 2007 at 8:15am

I don't find Google that scary. Yes, they've got a lot of data on me, but they've been around for a fair while and I've yet to see anything I consider to be particularly shady.

I filter our virtually all advertising at the end-level, meaning I get their services for free, effectively.
I probably should be worried, but I doubt worrying will do any good.

I'm more concerned about Microsoft, really, as their business practices are downright disgraceful and they have so much influence.
At least Google have good coders!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ILLUS on June 9, 2007 at 11:50am

Yes...I don't understand how it is legal to zoom in on people like that...seems a little too much...I like walking down the street thinking no one is watching me...of course I haven't been out of my house in weeks...and I suppose can still think what I want...
I guess if they can watch us all the time now I can leave my doors unlocked....

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Bill Cammack on June 9, 2007 at 4:44pm

You can't leave your doors unlocked. They're watching, but that doesn't mean they're going to stop the thieves they see leaving with your stuff. :)

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Rob Sammons on June 9, 2007 at 12:46pm

it may be useful but i dont no its kinda weird
nd its just like the fbi can check on us
i dont like being chec ked on
kinda invades privacy

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Derek on June 10, 2007 at 8:39am

I agree with you. I really have no fear of my Google searches. But, if you are planning on running for office or higher level employment, it's this hidden dirt that can come back and bite you in the tookuss.

No, we cannot trust the government with our data - point blank answer.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Chris Hinojosa on June 10, 2007 at 8:55pm

I trust Google, they're not Microsoft so they know what they're doing

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by J.W. on June 11, 2007 at 9:46am

"it is very tempting for companies to profit off of this kind of information"

Huh? What else motivates a company to do anything, except to profit? I suppose you mean, profit off the information in ways people are likely to find offensive or invasive.

Re: Street View, its been well established for a long, long time (via US court rulings) that anything that can be seen from a public place, like a street, can be photographed and distributed wihtout getting permission from anyone. And I'd say the benefits far outweigh the privacy issues on that one (you have to pay $$$ to take a photo in front of my building!!!), so suck it suckahs.

Re: Google having too much information from all these different portals...Yes. Scary. Very scary. Consider hypothetical:
Uncle Sam: Hi Google. How are you?
Google: Uh...fine.
Uncle Sam: Say...how about a looksy at all your raw data? We got terrorists to bomb.
Google: Uh...No. We value our customer's privacy, and that'd be evil.
Uncle Sam: O rly? How about we write some legislation or take some executive actions against ur srry based-on-US-soil company that reduces your cash flow to almost nil?
Google: In that case...does next Tuesday work for you?
Uncle Sam: Gee thanks! oh and did i mention i use the word "terrorist" rather loosely? Pretty much, it means: "people I don't like."

Can't wait for 2008, for the piratebay to have its own country.

Let's hope globilization doesn't kill us, cuz it can't be stopped - just shaped.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Paul Dateh on June 11, 2007 at 1:50pm

Ars Technica reports that Privacy International just ranked Google as the worst privacy offender. hmmm...

what, me worry? ;)

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070611-google-named-worst-pr...

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by SexFlavoredPez on June 11, 2007 at 2:23pm

Privacy? What's that? In the age of club cards, cell phones, the internet and the perversly named PATRIOT ACT there is no such thing as privacy my friends. But as has been touched upon by many others already, if you have nothing to hide then what need is there for privacy? So long as we're still keeping medical records 'private' then we're doing just fine.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by J.W. on June 11, 2007 at 2:49pm

"if you have nothing to hide then what need is there for privacy"

Privacy = Freedom

▶ Reply to This

• 1
• 2