
Vint Cerf: 'Privacy's an accident of the urban revolution' - ximeng
http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/features/1210768/vint-cerf-privacys-accident-urban-revolution/
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nodata
Most great things were "accidents": penicillin, x-rays, life.

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ximeng
Bit of a concern coming from a top guy at Google.

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stephenr
hardly fucking surprising.

I don't get why so many seemingly intelligent people think
Google/Facebook/LinkedIn/etc's whole approach of "get a heap of users, then
mine the shit out of their personal data for profit" is OK.

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thedrbrian
Because they are blinded by the free.

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stephenr
what about the businesses that sign up for google apps, PAY FOR IT, and still
get ads, and their data treated like a common prostitute to share around with
the world?

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anxiousest
Ads in paid Google Apps are subject to admin control to whether enable them or
not. Also technically speaking "prostitution" is a human only trait.

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stephenr
would it be more accurate if i said their personal information is whored out
to the highest bidder?

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anxiousest
No. For the same grammatical reasons and for the more important fact that they
don't sell data or information, they sell ad placement that get populated with
relevant ads determined by analysing said data. Advertisers don't buy the
data, they aren't exposed to it, they are exposed to dashboards, aggregates,
and abstractions, e.g "I want this product advertised to 18-35 year old males"
then don't get to personally know their demographic.

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stephenr
guys in brothels don't get to personally know their whore, they say "i want a
red head with big boobs" and pay the cash.

i still say the analogy is apt.

