

Google's Super Bowl ad - video and instant analysis - slapshot
http://www.reputationdefenderblog.com/2010/02/07/googles-super-bowl-ad-proves-that-google-knows-too-much/

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iheartmemcache
Since my comment is stuck in moderation limbo on reputationdefenderblog, I'll
paste it here:

",,,I think Google meant the ad to show that it is powerful."

I don’t think the commercial’s primary intent was to display the "power" of
Google, but rather the day to day usefulness of their engine.

Interestingly enough, the overwhelming initial response to this ad campaign
has been positive from girls in their mid-20s (I saw a copious amount of
"awws" in my twitter feed), and "mehs" from their male geek counterparts (who
already probably use Google anyways.)

We weren’t exactly the target demographic of this ad. Home run, Google- you
slammed this one out of the park.

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mkinsella
Great ad with no bullshit that shows off the core of Google. It was funny,
memorable, and different than the rest of the Super Bowl commercials.

~~~
peterb
I respectfully disagree. I thought it was melodramatic, not funny and missed
the mark for the vast majority of the audience watching.

~~~
truebosko
Have you ever been in love? ;)

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SilentCal
You'd have a hard time actually reconstructing a life from a search history,
because there would be so much noise. For every search that reflects an
important life decision, there will be dozens (hundreds? thousands? I can't
estimate very well) that you entered out of idle curiosity, random whims, etc.
The significance of the ad is that those important searches will take place.
Google will have no way of knowing which ones they are.

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mixmax
Google's data-mining fu is extremely strong. This is what they do for a
living. I'm sure they would be able to reconstruct a life if they choose. For
every important life decision there's probably more than one search involved
(having a baby? you'll search for crib, babyfood, baby crying, how to change
diapers and much more) and it is certainly possible to pick that out from
random searches for cribs because of boredom, checking it for a friend, etc.

If you move (change IP) Google will be able to track you if you use any of
their sign-in services (example@gmail.com now regularly logs in from this IP
instead of the old one). Your only chance of breaking this chain is either to
regularly use proxies or to change IP and gmail (and other services)
simultaneously.

~~~
nostrademons
This is basically the plot of Caprica. Zoe created a search engine so powerful
that when she died, it was able to reconstruct her personality from publicly
available information about her. Then her father downloaded her into a robot,
and thus was born the first Cylon....

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brown9-2
[http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/love-and-super-
bowl.h...](http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/love-and-super-bowl.html)

1\. The ad wasn't made for the Super Bowl

2\. There are other ads in the "search stories" series

~~~
sp332
The flight number is different, because the other one would start returning
suggestions for guns as you were typing it.

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andyjdavis
I don't own a tinfoil hat but that was pretty creepy. The idea of this
corporation portraying itself as some sort of buddy who will be by my side as
I go through life...

To me it comes across as a mixture of arrogance and over familiarity. Google
wants to know us better so they can serve more targeted ads. That desire is
not reciprocal. Not for me at least. Its like it never crossed their mind that
people may not be as pleased as they are at the idea of an ad network being
their best buddy.

~~~
potatolicious
> _"The idea of this corporation portraying itself as some sort of buddy who
> will be by my side as I go through life..."_

But often they are. Example: I grew up watching James Bond movies - I still
watch James Bond movies, and there will probably be many more Bond movies
between now and when I die. It's a known quantity - despite whatever different
directors have done to the franchise, it's a mainstay and recognizable part of
my existence.

In some ways, it _is_ a buddy that will be by my side as I go through life.

Now, I can be cynical about it and see Bond as merely a corporate, franchised
brand being foisted upon me as the unsuspecting consumer... But I choose to
see Bond as something genuine people have put genuine care into creating for
my consumption. It's not nearly so bad if you put it that way, eh?

I don't think Google is entirely off its rocker trying to portray itself as my
"buddy" - because it is. It knows everything I've ever wondered about, either
publicly or privately, and so far anyway its products respond to my needs much
better than any of its competitors (GMaps vs. MapQuest, for example).

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eordano
I just went through my last two months of Google Web History, and I can tell
you, it doesn’t reveals anything that anyone that know me doesn’t know. The
fact is that every day web searches are not as interesting as the ones in the
ad.

Most of them in my case are software development-related stuff. Before being
so afraid of “the power that google has” just check you history: it’s less
frightening than what commercial made you believe.

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w1ntermute
_Remind me to clear my search history more often._

Doesn't Google store search data even after the user has cleared it from their
history?

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ryandvm
Yes - this guy is heavy on drama and short on logic.

Here's a thought: If you don't want Google to know what questions you ask -
don't ask Google any questions.

~~~
w1ntermute
Or use Scroogle: <https://ssl.scroogle.org/cgi-bin/nbbw.cgi?Gw=%s>

Substitute %s with your search term.

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dmix
It'd be nice to be one of the sites at the top of those SERP's during the
super bowl.

~~~
JacobAldridge
Signal v Noise - suddenly having your server overwhelmed with 'interested
superbowl watchers', and then losing people actually looking to buy your
product is not so nice.

But (almost) any publicity is good publicity, and this may inspire a few
people to fly to Paris / get married in Paris / make a DIY crib etc, which has
positive flow on.

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houseabsolute
All this proves is that geeks think about things very differently than normal
people.

~~~
nostrademons
Also: that geeks are getting laid now, just like normal people.

~~~
potatolicious
"Google user" = "geek" now?

~~~
nostrademons
I was initially going to write "Also: that geeks are much more numerous now",
and on reflection that may've been a better observation.

Yes, Google users are geeks. Think back to the 1980s, or even the early 1990s.
If anyone had suggested then that you type a few words into a box onto your
computer screen to ask how to impress a girl, they'd be branded with "OMG you
are _such_ a geek." Except that "OMG" was itself a geek thing then. More
likely, they'd be punched in the face.

It's amazing how standards have changed in 15 years, and how what was dorky
then is normal now, and what was normal then is hopelessly out of date now.

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grandalf
flagged for a sensational, reddit-bait article concept.

