Re: Public Notice: Google is watching you.
From: Abraham Buckingham (twizlewink_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 11/04/04
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Date: 4 Nov 2004 08:23:33 -0800
j.schoenfeld@programmer.net (John Schoenfeld) wrote in message news:<a98beaaa.0411031729.2e6ecf41@posting.google.com>...
> It occured to me that g-mail is a massive scam.
>
> The only way to get a g-mail account is to be "invited" by an existing
> g-mail user. This unique registration process has no apparant
> advantages to google other than allowing it to build a massive graph
> to model it's users and their friends.
>
> By knowing who you invited, google can determine who your friends are
> and who their friends are, and so on. By knowing when you invited
> them, google can rank your friends in order using the assumption that
> you invited your better friends earlier than your ordinary friends.
>
> Combined with google's content analysis of you and your friends
> e-mails, they can build a profile of you as an individual, and also
> identify what subset of society you belong to (from drug smoking hippy
> to investment banker).
>
> Combined with the google search engine cookie (which expires in 2038),
> google knows what you searched for, and when you searched for it. They
> can use this to predict what your interests are what your state of
> mind was at some point in time.
>
> Ultimately, Google will know who you are, who your friends are, what
> type of people you and your friends are, what your interests are, what
> you and your friends like to talk about - and of course have 1 gig
> repository of all your g-mail conversations (which you can't delete).
>
> The level of detail and accuracy of google's profiling will be
> astounding, and equally disturbing. All in the name of marketing?
> Sure, except for when the FBI/CIA/NSA comes knocking (and maybe the
> Scientologists?).
>
> Although I have no evidence to support my claims, I urge you to
> consider them before using g-mail.
>
>
> References:
> http://www.google-watch.org/
You can always fight back, sign up false names and pass large files
back and forth. Clog up the system and give them as much false
information as possible, or simply don't participate. It's no
different then Airmiles or Safeway Club card in that it's 100%
voluntary and they aren't trying to hide the fact that they're
tracking your information. If you really believe someone is giving you
a 'free' service without compensation you are deluding yourself. I
have no problem allowing google to track my information in exchange
for the service they've provided.
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