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Can We Trust Google?
theodp writes "Google worries go mainstream this week in TIME's cover story, Can We Trust Google With Our Secrets? Touted as an 'inside look' at how success has changed Larry and Sergey's dream machine, the piece offers some interesting tidbits but in the end is pretty much a softball effort that even toes the mum's-the-word line on the relationship between Larry Page and 'blond, blue-eyed force of nature' Marissa Mayer. Guess it's the least Time Warner could do after pocketing $1B of Google's money."
Here's everything you can read. Unless you're a subscriber to TIME.
It's time to make some big decisions, so the Google guys are slipping on their white lab coats. After eight years in the spotlight running a company that Wall Street values at more than $100 billion, Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page are still just in their early 30s and, with the stubbornness of youth, perhaps, and the aura of invincibility, keep doing things their way. So the white coats go on when it's time to approve new products. For a few hours, teams of engineers will come forward with their best ideas, hoping to dazzle the most powerful men...
TIME Magazine subscribers, log in here to continue reading
Personally, if GMail, Google Search, Image Search, and Google Desktop are results of things done their way, I'll take more of it; I use all of those on a regular basis.
Honesty may be the best policy, but by process of elimination, dishonesty is the second best policy.
If you google Google you will see a list of critics, detractors and alternatives, after a few pages of Google top ranking itself. While there are some crackpots there is also some pretty interesting stuff; certainly worth the effort.
"Can there be a Klein bottle that is an efficient and effective beer pitcher?"
People need to understand the fact that executing a search on the Internet is akin to yelling out to the world, "Hey world, tell me everything you know about xyz".
No, it's not. My family/friends/neighbours don't know I was looking up -- well, never mind what I was looking up, but they don't know about it. So Google knows about it, and Google ties it to my IP address. Now if they wanted to they could go to the ISP, and get my name and address. Or I guess the ISP could be monitoring me.
But it's not the same as asking the world something, it's more like asking a particular person. Specifically, it's like asking someone you don't know.
What's the difference? Well I don't care if Google knows what I was searching for, it doesn't embarass me. If people I knew knew what I was searching for, it would be a different story completely.
I was wondering if anyone else questions the value of Google as a publicly traded company. As a private company the company could afford to take more idealistic stands and just work through the backlash. Now that they are beholden to a bunch of fickle investors that over emphasize the bottom line. Does "Don't be evil" take a back seat to making profits?
"I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions."
As a geek I love Wikipedia and how the net has given me information at my fingertips. A few sites have censored themselves, but the Google cache usually reveals this. Very gratifying. But now that Google has become so dominant, and is helping China to censor stuff from their citizens, do they really deserve our trust? Can we really trust ANY online media? If we don't have hardcopies, how can we guarantee that information isn't altered or wiped out for ever? In 1984, there is a whole ministry that works with throwing stuff into "the Memory Hole" that the regime doesn't like. Now it might be possible to do it with a press of a button.
A pretty nasty example of this comes from Time magazine itself:
The whole article I quoted from is here.
Being bitter is drinking poison and hoping someone else will die
Speak for yourself. I am warm and comfortable in my own cloak of anonymity, with my own level of protection, and I realize that one simple mistake could compromise one of my identities, and possibly my entire house of cards. It's complicated, but you can remain anonymous on the internet.
It takes some effort to do it properly, just like anything else in this world.
it's a blue bright blue Saturday hey hey
Just curious, but what exactly are these all so precious secrets that need protecting.
Obviously, if you're living in Area 51 this doesn't apply. But for the vast majority of people what do we really have that is so important.
The big one is of course salary, I know a lot of people who are really secretive about this one. Why? Who cares - it's really only interesting if your raking it in - in which case it's probably published in some kind of company return - or your making the same as any other joe schmo and it's published in some crappy salary review (or close enough).
Second one, deepest emotions/thoughts. Either you've put the on the web through a blog or you've not told anyone - in which case until Google Brain comes out, that's where they're staying.
Third, opinions. Everyone thinks that their opinions are unique. Bad news folks they're not, you share them with millions of others - no one cares.
Fourth, shopping habits. So what if the local supermarket knows I buy bread, cheese and eggs. And if they use that information to sell me stuff I want - well all the better.
I'm sure there a loads more types of secret but I'm just at a loss to know what the big secrets that Google can possibly know that we all need to get upset about the erosion of our civil liberties.
Of course, if you are living in a police state and you risk death if the government figures out your real intentions, then this is obviously important. But what do you care, your living in a police state!
Genesis 1:32 And God typed
Not to pick on Billy Boy. I trust no corporation, not even google and their reassuring motto. Ultimately a corporation answers to the shareholders and eventually, regardless of a companies motto, promises, etal ...... the shareholder wins out. It's that simple really. Of course their motto is broad and non-specific enough that it gives them lots of leeway. No evil indeed. From who's point of view, or in what country or.... insert your own.
And so we have some "dirt" about of all things dating. Now that's really hitting the bottom of the barrel here. Of course with such a gossip rag as "Us" its only natural the article be 80% old biddy tongue wagging and 20% anything of substance.
As for Googles decision regarding China. Well lets see here. Your in a foreign country doing business and some are getting wrapped around the axle cause that business follows that countries rules, policies etal? What the hell is the matter with you snot nosed little whiners? What would happen if a foreign company started violating our rules here in the US? I think you knuckleheads need to get a grip on reality. We may not agree with China's policies and I'm sure they take objection to some of ours. But no sovereign nation has the right to tell another how to run their business.
My karma is not a Chameleon.
And I suppose that if I use the phone to call my friend, using the PSTN, that's also a public act? After all, anyone could listen in and eavesdrop on our conversation. It's just more efficient when there's a government agency that has already indexed all the conversations.
For more information, click here.
- I do not trust the US Government.
- The US Government, using the Patriot Act can subopena my secrets from Google without my knowledge or consent.
thereforeHmmm, let's see ... storing all user info in a searchable database on Google's servers (including all documents on users' computers if Google Desktop has its way) is in the best interest of:
a) The users, who pay nothing;
b) The advertisers that have made Google a $150 billion company;
c) The shareholders;
d) The CIA and NSA.
Do the math people.
A-Bomb
I fully agree. I wait tables at a second job. One evening a lady said that she wanted to pay with a credit card, but since she had been the victim of credit card fraud a couple times, she wanted to swipe the card herself because her bank recommended her to do so. I let her swipe it, but let her know, that it would make little difference. That I can pull up any transaction made under my name in the restaurant computer. So it probably would deter a server to a target less likely to be monitoring their credit card transactions, it really does little to enhance any security. Think of the weakest link, and they are ususally ones with the greatest access. Servers in the restaurant get access to all their guests' credit card data. The janitor has the keys to every office in the building, so he can clean them. True security is a fallacy in the information age.
No. They're run by people, and they're unpredictable, and they could one day decide to do something pretty bad.
They could indeed. Given the facts of history of any long-standing company and the shift in management, ownership etc. the policies also change with new owners, new management. Im pretty sure that the original founder of Google is a nice man with a sturdy moral...especially if you study Googles policies and work-ethings for their staff, Ive yet to come across a person working for Google complaining about anything really. So kudos to them - for now!
But all that *WILL* Change, it is a matter of time, Google management will grow tired, at least grow older...new management will come in place - and policies will almost certainly change no matter how warm and promising that handshake where. Who in this greedy world can say no to full and uncensored access to all information about YOU? The truth? No one with a sane business oriented mind would say no. You can use this information to find the so called "perfect" staff...
Nightmare scenario:
Imagine that mr. Curious Geek does something he should NOT do... look at underaged porn. Guess what? That porn site just happens to have Gooooooogle ADS on it, and guess what...that cookie is now effectly brought on to your Gmail account - and you are now in the register as a possible child-offender even if you dont have the slightest interest in such stuff. (Yeah - right...so whyd ya surf there in the first place? No smoke without fire they say). Anyway - every person will get less secure with this, and the freedom to check out the Good, bad and Ugly on the net will endanger your entire future - and Google in bad hands...almost certainly will screw your life.
It could even end up worse...
Imagine further - that we now want a totally clean society, that Googles do-no-evil policy also means less freedom to think, express, learn anything about everything because it will be censored in the fight against *evil*. Yeah...evil knowledge...you and your children are now prohibited from watching all that bad stuff from the real world out there because we want to breed "healthy, morally constructed" perfect citizens (gets scarier). And some of the nazi-clean of you may ask whats wrong with that?
Everything is wrong about that - no one shall or should ever have this much control over anything. You dont know whos good or bad side youll be on in the future, and it should not restrict you to find about the truth such as you yourself will see it, not the way the owners of Google wants you to see it (China-sensored Google anyone?..its the beginning boys!)
Yeah...go ahead...just call me paranoid!
What this world is coming to - is for you and me to decide.
As I've said elsewhere on the net, I'm not the quokkapox from Australia (apparently someone else was using that handle before I adopted it, unbeknownst to me). That narrows it down to America, where I'm from and itchin' to leave RSN.
Or maybe I'm just lying.
it's a blue bright blue Saturday hey hey