The Power of Google
Hey readers! Some daunting thoughts hit me recently, and I thought I might share. Hitwise.com ranked Google as the #1 US Search Engine as of June 26, 2010. Even right now, I am blogging through a Google based service! But what does Google do with all this traffic they see everyday? They data-mine it!! Thats right, Google keeps records of all popular searches, log information, personally identifiable information, location data, and even e-mail records! Yup, Google saves your e-mails! 180 days after an e-mail has been saved to a third-party web server it is no longer protected by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and can be legally read by the person hosting the server. Suddenly, that X amount of free storage Gmail offers, that "lets you never have to delete an e-mail again!" makes allot more sense. . . Also, google uses GUID (Globally Unique Identifier) cookies, that attach a single user or IP address to all of the google services and data they use. This enables Google to look up specific information on any user, such as a list of their search records, e-mails received, YouTube videos viewed, documents modified, activities performed on an Android phone, GPS location, or even lists of their contacts! Google can also perform look ups on popular searches and get lists on people that search keywords. Wow! Powerful right?? But Google swears by this motto, "Don't Be Evil." But what they say and what they do can be 2 vastly different scenarios. Take for example how Google told China they would not continue censoring information, but when China threatened to pull the contract, Google quickly went back on their word for the money. Which leads us to now, Google recently wrote an outlined proposal of net neutrality to Congress, in joint venture with Verizon. And while this write up seemed to be 'by the people, for the people' it left some hugely questionable grey areas in line with wireless net neutrality and 'privatized networks'. Okay Google, so maybe you aren't doing evil, but there are certainly some shady activities going on. Like leaving the wireless part of a net-neutrality law vague, when you are working hand in hand with a wireless provider!! And don't forget, Google announced plans for a Chrome operating system for future Webbooks! They are trying to move all services on-line, preferably to their cloud, while establishing a solid relationship with a wireless provider now. What will happen when most services are only accessible through the Internet? Well, people will want to access the Internet from where ever they are, wirelessly! If that's not shady enough, check out this article by the Wall Street Journal that discusses Google's leaked visionary statement: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703309704575413553851854026.html
So in the coming days I will be watching Google very closely, and monitoring their trends for a change. I highly suggest you all do the same, don't take these services as granted, they do come at a price! Unless I see a more ethical approach to handling all of the sensitive data they have collected, I am going to start mitigating my services to another provider!
So in the coming days I will be watching Google very closely, and monitoring their trends for a change. I highly suggest you all do the same, don't take these services as granted, they do come at a price! Unless I see a more ethical approach to handling all of the sensitive data they have collected, I am going to start mitigating my services to another provider!