You’ve Been Googled

I love Google. I hate Google. Hate I am unequivocally ambivalent about Google.
They do so much that is so right… and so wrong.

Maps – they’re great. Google Earth – very cool, not very useful, but cool.
Google video – not as good as Youtube… so they bought Youtube!

Ten years ago they were a dotcom start up that few people had ever even heard of. Now they are a technology powerhouse that seems to be taking over the Internet. Its even become a verb —- you google me! Don’t be that guy. I am that guy. But for all the great things they do, there are still some things about Google I really can’t stand.

Like if you use Gmail – Google’s free web-based email you might not know that they (Google) uses the information they collect from Gmail to find out things about you. They’re like you own private internet stalker – free internet stalker.

It may not sound like really big deal. But it is kind of a violation of you privacy. But its legal. Remember that long legal document you clicked okay after reading and agreeing with it. Or in your case not reading it and agreeing with it anyway? Yeah, in there. Google owns Gmail and all of the content in it. And that includes your email, the ones you send to other people and the emails they send back to you. So even if you wrote it, they own it. And they can data-mine and use the information they find out about you pretty much anyway they want. They know too much.

Now maybe a it doesn’t really bother you that big companies like google violate you and your privacy in small ways. You may feel okay about a private corporation having massive information about you- what you do, who you know, where you have been – cause its all about better service, right? Maybe or maybe its just manipulative advertising. Don’t they make all their money on adwords.

Curse you adwords its like your reading my mind!!!… and I must buy.
But all it takes is one little subpoena and all that information Google collected about you now belongs to the government. So let’s say you are writing a paper on terrorism. You could be flagged and investigated as a terrorist. Thanks Google! No, I am not paranoid. They’re out to get you, not me. I don’t use Gmail.

To be fair, Google’s not the only one doing it either. Most of the big players – Microsoft, Yahoo, Amazon, and others, all collect data about their users. But Google just seems to be more flagrant with their use of data for their own ends…

Google’s motto is “don’t be evil”… But I wonder, is it a reminder for the company to use your information ethically or is it a threat that if don’t behave, they’ll turn you in? Google video, Google Earth, Google whistleblower. If I were you, I’d start shopping for same email that doesn’t spy on you. It’s not a coincidence that there’s double O in Google.

And you know someday they’ll have a Google phone and it’ll be free so you’ll sign up and they’ll record all your calls just in case, you know, you need to listen to ‘em again. Hey, do you use Google phone? Yeah, I’m hanging up. I’ll talk to you when I see you. I am not a terrorist.

Share the show:

Copy this code onto your site or blog: