Hi, first post...
I have been staving off the big G for a long while now. Google Analytics and subsequent buying feedburner got their teeth into me. I say it like it's a bad thing... i truly don't think it is for two reasons:
1. They make money with search sending you to websites that for the most part have adsense. The better the search, the more targeted the ads. Being advertised to keeps things free, google does a lot of free and understand the most important thing about advertising... keep it simple and don't shove overt advertising down peoples throat. Tv companies do not, and hence they are dying as people take control with the internet.
2. The MOMENT Google abuse the data they have, or at least get caught, the whole world will turn against them and it's over. That's a bigger threat than pretty much any organisation can face, it will in theory keep them more trustworthy than any government - your government abuses your trust and your data all the time, in the U they leave it on the train. Googles whole approach to making the insane amounts of money they make is based on our trust. Abuse it, lose it...
So now i have a Google account, and threw my all my chips in with the G1 which i am growing fond of already (5 hours). I will not actually use Gmail for anything other than the services i use from Google, but let's face it... all email is in "the cloud". Which is a BS phrase anyway, Hotmail is cloud computing ffs.
No doubt Google will draw me in some more, pretty much the most exciting and innovative company in the world... plus they have yet to actually screw anyone or do anything hugely crappy. I will take Google over Microsoft any day of the week, i boycott them outright.
My point? If you use a computer unless you are the ultimate in geek hakking know how and have the patience to spend the time mopping up after yourself, the internet is not a place for privacy. I am not saying you may as well put your home address in your forum signatures, but you leave a nice enough paper trail for someone to compile data with whatever you do.
I say embrace it, just stay wary enough to be safe.
I have been staving off the big G for a long while now. Google Analytics and subsequent buying feedburner got their teeth into me. I say it like it's a bad thing... i truly don't think it is for two reasons:
1. They make money with search sending you to websites that for the most part have adsense. The better the search, the more targeted the ads. Being advertised to keeps things free, google does a lot of free and understand the most important thing about advertising... keep it simple and don't shove overt advertising down peoples throat. Tv companies do not, and hence they are dying as people take control with the internet.
2. The MOMENT Google abuse the data they have, or at least get caught, the whole world will turn against them and it's over. That's a bigger threat than pretty much any organisation can face, it will in theory keep them more trustworthy than any government - your government abuses your trust and your data all the time, in the U they leave it on the train. Googles whole approach to making the insane amounts of money they make is based on our trust. Abuse it, lose it...
So now i have a Google account, and threw my all my chips in with the G1 which i am growing fond of already (5 hours). I will not actually use Gmail for anything other than the services i use from Google, but let's face it... all email is in "the cloud". Which is a BS phrase anyway, Hotmail is cloud computing ffs.
No doubt Google will draw me in some more, pretty much the most exciting and innovative company in the world... plus they have yet to actually screw anyone or do anything hugely crappy. I will take Google over Microsoft any day of the week, i boycott them outright.
My point? If you use a computer unless you are the ultimate in geek hakking know how and have the patience to spend the time mopping up after yourself, the internet is not a place for privacy. I am not saying you may as well put your home address in your forum signatures, but you leave a nice enough paper trail for someone to compile data with whatever you do.
I say embrace it, just stay wary enough to be safe.