
The Basic Layout of the Google User Data Empire - makimaki
http://www.slightlyshadyseo.com/index.php/googles-user-data-empire/
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jodrellblank
This article does miss out quite a lot of Google information gathering sites
(Hosted gmail for business use, default search on the iphone, maps+GPS on the
iphone, Picasa, youtube, ...), many are mentioned in the comments.

Still, it's not so much that I think Google is doing evil right now, but the
more they gather, the more potential they have to do bad things with it. And
since they're pushing into unprecedented data gathering, it's not limited to
"bad things that have happened before that I can enumerate specifically",
either. Who can predict what pessimistic delights lie in wait over the next
decade?

And the more they gather, the more of a target they become for crackers,
internal leaks, legistlation, and the more room there is for plain old
mistakes. Maybe they really don't want to do evil, but on their way from
virtue to virtue, some quantity of people will be barged out of the way,
trampled upon and mistreated, just because Goog are huge.

Also consider that if you regularly use Google maps for directions, then you
will tend to do home->place or work->place, focusing in on your main
locations.

If you search Google for names, then the chances are you're looking for
friends/relatives, or famous people. Google can tell famous people, because
other people are searching for them.

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debt
He left out one of the most important Google acquisitions: DoubleClick. Ugh,
this article poorly researched and written.

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azharcs
Everyday I am using less and less of Google products, My default search is
Yahoo now and Image Search is MSN Live, they are perfect. I somehow see Google
as the evil empire of the future and by giving free lunch and letting
employees bring puppies inside office won't change that.

