Many people have talked about this subject, but the matter isn't over until a nobody talks about it.

Google knows everything about you. If you have used their search engine, they know everything you searched. They know what you're interested in. If you use their calender or docs web applications; Google knows about all sorts of things that are going on in your life. The more you use Google, they more they know about you, which is what many users are worried about. Is Google secretly selling your information to some organization that is out to get you because you honked your car horn at them during a traffic jam? Should Google be keeping your personal information private? (For those of you who don't know, many companies do a Google search about you when you decide to apply. What sort of things are they going to find?) There are so many people out there who are afraid of the things Google is capable of doing because they have all this information in their hands.

I don't think Google is going to try and do something that would screw everyone over. They are a very large company, but they are not the only company. They there is still some competition with Yahoo!, and if Google does something wrong with our personal information, Yahoo! is going to get a huge boost of users. Which bring me to my second point. There are other places to search for information. There are tons of other places that could potentially screw you over. Every single time you submit anything on the internet, it could be used against you. If you broke the law, and the police get a warrant; they could get all that information from Google as well as any other site that has your personal information (Facebook, Twitter, your Blog, etc.). It's not like Google is just there handing out your information for free because they try to keep it private.

Google keeping all your information isn't exactly bad. With more information about the popular searches, Google could add different functions which would allow you to find sites that you're more interested in. Besides, it's not like you could force Google to get rid of your information. The only way you could keep your private information a secret is if you boycott the internet, and that's not something you'd want to do.

So, Google isn't all that bad. If they did do something, you'd be sure to hear about it because thousands upon thousands of users would be complaining. Google isn't a bad company. They do so many things for you, and only want to make your browsing experience the best it can be. Conclusion? If you're going to break the law, don't do something stupid like searching "How to Make Bombs" on Google. Other than that; Google on.

Posted in Labels: Google, Internet, Opinion Posted by Bookmark Geek at 3:52 PM