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Google Keeps What Ask.com Erases
Stony Stevenson passed us an ITNews article on the AskEraser service we discussed the other day. The Ask.com service is intended to obscure a user's search data - but does it really go away? "AskEraser may remove user search query data from Ask.com's servers, but deleted data may live on, in part at least, on Google's servers. That's because Google delivers the bulk of the ads on Ask.com, based on information provided by Ask ... It may well use the information for other purposes, such as measuring the responsiveness of its systems. However, Leeds said he could not disclose the specifics of the contractual relationship between Ask and Google."
My fellow citizens of the Internet: ask not what Slashdot will do for your data, but what together we can do for the freedom of all data.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
Yes, Ive noticed that Google keeps things that eventually gets erased somewhere else, but Google also censors - partially because of violations of various company rules, laws, and much more (too much more!). SO much more in fact - that a little "googling" around the world....from ...servers around the world - will yield different results from what you may get googling from your country, think that I am paranoid and kidding? Try it!
What this world is coming to - is for you and me to decide.
I have it on pretty good authority that Ask.com will likely not renew their contract with Google for serving paid ads. Ask has been developing their own platform and is working pretty heavily to recruit advertisers to it. You can see it here.
Yes, you can dance to Radiohead.
Don't panic! Google will only remain logging when you are paranoid.
I would be surprised to learn that Google ever deleted anything. I know a few Googlers, and from what I gather information is generally made "unavailable to the public" rather than erased.
Ask needs to make a profit, just like everybody else. If it were not for advertisements there would be no Askeraser, and Ask will naturally choose the partner they think will give them the most money. I use Google Adsense on many of my websites too, for exactly the same reason. I know that Google spies on my visitors, and I really would like to avoid them doing so, but at the end of the day I want dinnar and no advertisement revenue, no dinner. That being said.. I personally use (polipo+)privoxy for all my normal browsing and Tor+privoxy for the majority of my browsing. And this is kind of how I make lame excuses for myself and my Adsense usage: It's really up to each one of us to educate ourselves on how to avoid internet tracking & surveillance. It really is up to each and every one of us. If people choose to use Windows and Internet Explorer and have lots of spyware installed and not filter unwanted parts of webpages and not use Tor then so be it and if I can make a profit off it then atleast I get to eat. And I don't cry or think twice about people using things like Tor+Privoxy to visit my sites, since it's only a small percentage who are smart enough to do so. But they should. And they should not trust that I, or AskEraser, or anyone else for that matter (scroogle, and such services) do not track people - because that is not needed. See, if you trust Askeraser to erase you records then you have already decided to trust a third party. Maby they really do erase. Perhaps they just say they do. BUT if you choose to ensure that they don't track you by running software which makes sure they CAN'T track you - such as Tor - then you don't NEED to trust Askeraser (or anyone else). That is the only real solution imho, putting your faith in a third party is stupid, regardless of them being trustworthy or not for the time being.
9/11: Never forget it was a false-flag operation
They already renewed the deal and announced it about a month ago. Their own platform isn't even developed by them it is build on LookSmart's AdCenter technology and probably only accounts for 2-3% of their sponsored search revenue.
Ask's parent company, IAC, is breaking up. They're a conglomerate; they own things like the Home Shopping Network, TicketMaster, Lending Tree, and CondoDirect. All those are being sold off. They're keeping all their "internet properties", like Excite (yes, that's where Excite ended up), CitySearch, Evite, Popular Screensavers (!), iWon, Match.com, and Zwinki. IAC collected many of the major losers from Web 1.0 under one corporate roof.
At this point, it hardly seems relevant what Ask does.
Who downloads ads any more? They make the internet too slow for me.
Write your own Choose Your Own Adventure. http://www.freegameengines.org/gamebook-engine/
I think your assignation of "Web 1.0" to all of these things is not warranted. For Match and evite, aren't these classic early example of almost entirely user-driven content creation and social networking? I *think* that's what Web 2.0 is about. Unless it's really just about the rounded corners and candy colours.
Da Blog
I'm irritated at "targeted" home mortgage ads for California residents only popping up.
I'm irritated at "targeted" ads for social networking sites when I'm reading email from my wife.
I'm irritated that there is even a concept called "click fraud" (and the only thing that irritates me more than that, is reading sites who defend the use of the word "fraud" in it).
I'm irritated at most things internet nowadays, but keeping search history and using that as special sauce on the results just doesn't work for me. I haven't been at a unique naked IP address since 1998.
I added ask.com to my search engine list thingie in Firefox and have been using it as my first choice search engine after I read about their privacy feature. So long as advertisers support the term "click fraud" and have a degree of hostility towards someone who does not shop on the internet (like blocking content to people who use AdBlock), I don't mind blocking content and I will never click on a random ad that pops up because if I clicked on it, it would be "click fraud" because I never buy things that way.
I do buy things over the internet and in fact spent several thousand dollars towards my family's Christmas/New Year's travel (plane/boat/hotel) that way, but I did it my way.
And yes, I do expect advertisers and those who depend upon them to cater to me. I can live without your content or your good will. You cannot survive without paying customers of which you just lost (a potential) one if you're annoying me. Don't bug me, but I'll call you if you have something I want to buy.
You folks who are happy with whatever Microsoft is peddling at the moment, or Google, or whomever