Slashdot Mirror
35 Million Google Profiles Collected
Orome1 writes "If you are one of those individuals that made their own Google Profile, chances are that you knew and agreed to the fact that the information you included in it will be available for anyone who searches for it online. But, maybe you haven't thought about the possibility of this information being harvested and indexed in order to make mining of it easier. Whether you have or not, it is ultimately irrelevant — you have shared the information with Google, and it does not forbid the indexing of the list."
Why wouldn't you think about the possibility of the information being harvested? That's a main part of Google's business model.
because i made sure my profile was complete with my address and everything since everyone on the internets is friends and cool
How is this news?
Isn't it something we all agreed to: trade ease of use and functionality with a little bit of privacy loss?
Decide what the world sees when it searches for you.
Create a public profile to display the information you care about and make it easy for visitors to get to know you.
Seems pretty self-explanatory.
Let's get a petition together to get Google to put up a robots.txt on Google so that Google can't Google Google.
I8-D
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-12/facebook-busted-in-clumsy-smear-attempt-on-google/
I'm glad no one started harvesting any of my Facebook Profile.
GOATSE.
Which is not shocking anymore, kiddo. Get a new Schtick.
These days, anyone who hasn't been living in a gave for the last 15 years knows that this kind of data is not private.
The bigger issue for having no searchable online presence is stuff from the early days of the internet, like 1980-1985. Back then, everyone posted (to usenet - this was long before the web) with their real names. Furthermore, nobody had any idea that someday all that would be archived retroactively. At the time, posts were considered ephemeral - once they decayed off servers, they were thought to be gone forever.
But it later turned out that archives of this stuff were saved by one person. It wasn't clear at the time - remember, home computers then commonly had 4 *kilo*bytes of memory, and no hard drives, and storage space was bloody expensive. Most people were online using big iron, and those accounts were attached to your real name by whatever organization owned the machine. Fortunately, I never posted anything under my real name that I'd be upset for anyone to find now, but some people did, and that stuff is traceable to them forever. Yes, you might be convince google (who bought the archives, originally made by Henry Spencer) to delete *your* posts, but not when what you wrote was quoted by others.
I don't have much sympathy for anyone now who isn't aware that anything you post is going to be data-mined out the ass, but in the early 80's, nobody knew - it was just a single individual in the entire world who was saving the stuff.
+5 Funny
We've allowed our bed to be made. Now will we continue to use services that require us to give up our privacy while we complain loudly at the loss of privacy? Come on everyone. Pick one.
Agile Artisans
You know, I'd never really thought about it like that before. Thanks for your valuable and insightful contribution to this discussion!
They need a new compass the points to "evil" when they do stuff like this.
Just because they can, doesn't mean they should!
In a world where being anonymous is getting difficult these examples are something you expect. I am sure it's a bit too late to do anything but I think I should make everything private but I am sure Google has already cached my profile.
What is the point of creating a Google Profile if not for it to be indexed such as someone else can find you and read about you in relevant queries?
>> my profile was complete with my address
Ernest Borgnine, you're at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? Isn't that a pretty rough neighborhood?
at all. I'm just waiting for the day when I sign up for some google social network, only to find that they already made my profile for me, full of all of my interests, contact information, relationships, and even pictures.
Zuck is always glad to add value to a discussion. :-)
That's what Google Images is for.
which is totally what she said
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/google/google-opens-up-your-profile-to-search-engines/1158
Google opens up your profile to search engines
By Garett Rogers | October 15, 2008
It's the whole point of it.
If you made it, most likely you WANTED to be found. Whether it is your actual details or fake, nickname-y details.
This sounds like more facebook suckage.
That's the point of a Google profile! To let people more easily find you. I would certainly hope that they allow indexing of this information.
Why would you want a private profile? Like Creed from The Office, I can make a private profile with Microsoft Word.
And probably anyone can access it through OpenId (S/A/L), same for Facebook, Yahoo, and anyone who supports OpenId.
"OpenID is rapidly gaining adoption on the web, with over one billion OpenID enabled user accounts and over 50,000 websites accepting OpenID for logins. Several large organizations either issue or accept OpenIDs, including Google, Facebook, Yahoo!, Microsoft, AOL, MySpace, Sears, Universal Music Group, France Telecom, Novell, Sun, Telecom Italia, and many more.
Who Owns or Controls OpenID?
OpenID was created in the summer of 2005 by an open source community trying to solve a problem that was not easily solved by other existing identity technologies. As such, OpenID is decentralized and not owned by anyone, nor should it be. Today, anyone can choose to use an OpenID or become an OpenID Provider for free without having to register or be approved by any organization."
http://openid.net/get-an-openid/what-is-openid/
"openid.ax.required
(required) Specifies the attribute being requested. Valid values include:
"country"
"email"
"firstname"
"language"
"lastname"
To request multiple attributes, set this parameter to a comma-delimited list of attributes.
"
http://code.google.com/intl/hu-HU/apis/accounts/docs/OpenID.html
Holy shit, dude! I just found out about this thing where the phone company (those evil fuckers) put your address in this large book with white pages. It even has your name and phone number too. How will we ever survive in this modern world where we have all these totally new privacy issues that have never come up before?
The Internet is not secure.
You could also consume the service, be it google, facebook, slashdot, or whatever, give out no useful information even your name, and block every single advert served.
How am I the product exactly?
This is my google profile:
Introduction
At first I was just two cells, one of which won an informal swimming competition. Then, a blastula. Then an embryo, a fetus, a baby, a really, really annoying child with a guitar, a totally out of control teenager with several guitars and amplifiers, a reformed young adult, an engineer, then finally, I matured into the sexual tyrannosaurus that I am today. Tomorrow, however, I may be senile, not to mention that whole sexual thing depending on drugs. Possibly there will be drugging to avoid depends, too. If you need more information, you're advised to ask me soon, before I forget entirely who I am. Wait, what was the question?
Occupation
Pondering
Employment
I ponder conundrums
Previous employers
Many
Education
University of Life
Ph.D in Hard Knocks
Masters of Reality
Bachelors in Dating
Associates in Matters of Degree
Honorary "Get off my Lawn" with "Or I'll Shoot" cluster
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
because i made sure my profile was complete with my address and everything since everyone on the internets is friends and cool
LoL, you just described the Facebook Friendlist phenomena.
StarTrekPhase2 - The Five Year Mission Continues!
Anyone know of any alternatives that will let me sync my Android phone with all the information I do now? Calendar, phone book, installed applications, bookmarks, etc. It is really handy whenever I wipe my phone or get a new one, everything just magically transfers over. I was even able to cross devices when I switched from Symbian to Android, because I was using the Symbian Google syncing stuff.
I hate that Google has all that information but it's just so damn handy. There is no reason why I couldn't run my own server for that though. Something open source and Linux based would be good.
The ratio of people to cake is too big
You mean...data I choose to make public on Google is... PUBLIC ?!?!?!
MCSE? No, sir...I don't do Windows. Yes, I am an idealist. What's your point?
It's so rough, they put snipers on the roof!
How is this news?
by not entering a bunch of information in the first place. People need to read the terms of service, and think about what kind of information they put online.
And my entry in the database is the footprint of my soul, expressing my brief existence long after the rest of me has faded away...
If information is claimed to be private (e-mails, your contacts, messages etc...) is compromised then it's a privacy violation
Information that is announced to be public designed to be easy to access for anyone, then it is PUBLIC, there is no privacy violation.
In 2003, Arlene Corpuz did a Google search for "microsoft word class handout". She found my website where I had teaching handouts I wrote. Arlene was in the Philippines, emailed me, and I provided the documents she wanted.
She had a Geocities homepage in her signature. I read it, and we corresponded.
In September of 2004, I landed in Manila. In June of 2005, Arlene and I were married in the USA. In March of 2008, our daughter, Athena Corpuz Gregerson was born.
This was the advantage, for us, of sharing information about ourselves online. We have not experienced any disadvantages yet.
www.cgstock.com
My Google Profile consists of my name, e-mail address and an avatar of the "Awesome Smiley" for GChat. They can mine that all they want.
Holy shit, dude! I just found out about this thing where the phone company (those evil fuckers) put your address in this large book with white pages. It even has your name and phone number too. How will we ever survive in this modern world where we have all these totally new privacy issues that have never come up before?
I'm not calling BS on this but do you have any proof of your claims? What's the name of the book?
Grammar nazis are to this community what excrements are to gold.
Why is this news?? You make a profile online, not for yourself, but for others... for public consumption. So... huh?
I allowed them to index my socks and underwear drawer, but not before I bought new underwear so's as to show off my spiffy skiveys. Now, no matter my mood, the right undies are no more than 0,.27 msecs away. And to think all that is even available now via my phone (or yours). Great googly moogly we have arrived.
If they can find value in the made up data I put in there, good for them.
We always just called it the BAB, a shortened acronym for Big Azz Book That Won't Fit On A Shelf.
I wish it was only one book, they leave 12 different editions on my porch every year.
Cheap storage VM.
Wear a rubber, I hear Google's a bit of a slut.
It's a public profile. At least for me, I put stuff there that I want people to know about. Most of the time they don't care.
Now if someone makes it more accessable and actually reads it, the better.
Many people pay advertising companies to do so.
Of course, putting private information on public profiles is highly stupid. No, I don't expect most people to understand that before they get into an uncomfortable place, but well, that's not my problem.
How much is Facebook paying for slashdot stories? News flash: Public Profiles are . . . Public! Welcome to teh webz.
I guess no one bothered to look in the options when they created their Google Profile and uncheck the "Make my profile visible to search" box. Don't blame Google for your own misdoings.
Wow, nice list. This is some hardcore dedication on your part, good sir.
You can opt out of that. Call the phone company. It's free.
Hey, I finally got my first freak! Took you long enough!
OMG! .... well I mean... like "why not, dude?". Then suddenly some big profit oriented company run by millionaire executives who earn way more than unionized janitors and won't pay their fair share of taxes wants to mine my data for evil marketing purposes SO THEY CAN MAKE MORE MONEY AND WORSEN THE INCOME INEQUALITY PROBLEM!!!!!!!
I put tons of confidential, proprietary, and personal info online because its
ITS, LIKE, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, NOT FAIR!!!!!
And you opt _in_ to Google Profile. So what's the problem?
Does Zeljka Zorz make articles about the obvious?
And if so, howmuch canyou earn?
"Sun emits heat"
"Images relay information"
"Computers consume energy"
"New agencies accept quantity of quality"
From the google website
"
The purpose of Google Profiles is to enable you to manage your online identity. Today, nearly all Google Profiles are public. We believe that using Google Profiles to help people find and connect with you online is how the product is best used. Private profiles don’t allow this, so we have decided to require all profiles to be public.
Keep in mind that your full name is the only required information that will be displayed on your profile; you’ll be able to edit or remove any other information that you don’t want to share.
If you currently have a private profile but you do not wish to make your profile public, you can delete your profile. Or, you can simply do nothing. All private profiles will be deleted after July 31, 2011.
"
Oh I love those guys, well at least they won't change my profile to public without my consent
The whole purpose of creating a Google Profile is so that your profile will be included in Google's index.
In fact the Google Profile mission statement says exactly that. The whole thing is geared around you wanting to be returned when people search for you.
What a non story this is.
What a non story to post. I guess now you see your handle and your 30sec. of fame. Enjoy it lamo
It turns out that if you intentionally and explicitly put information into a public database, it will then be available in a public database.
We all know what happens then. First they get the information from profiles, then they get the money, then they get the power, then they get the Real Dolls.
I still have a some of the free Google Profile business cards that Google gave away to promote this when it first came out. I thought it was a pretty cool way to control the information that appeared when someone googled you. And the reason why I thought that was because it was pretty much how Google sold it.
Does this
I am sick of people ranting about Google and their market research. Its been like this forever -- people collecting information on you so they know what to sell you and how. Now technology just makes it easier to do, as technology does with everything. So if that scares you, go live in a cave.
All I want is to NOT be censored. If the data were being used to try and censor me, I would be against it. But otherwise, I voluntarily tell people what I like and hate, and if Google wants to know so they can sell me something, all they need to do is ask. I hate advertising, but the reason I hate it is because 99.99909174% of it has nothing to do with what I like or what I want to buy. Like, I am sick of ads for Windows software when I haven't used Windows for anything, EVER. If every advertisement I ever see happens to be something I might be interested in buying, that would be awesome.
Google is solving these problems, and I am glad.
20 years around computers, and all you are is a tech? You're a joke Robert. You must be a retrograde idiot, because even young kids in collegiate academia accomplish more than that Robert, and they do it in less time put in. The "M" in your name must stand for moron.
LoL, thanks idiot. But I've done far more than that. And, I do what makes me happy. Next time you want to take a pot shot, dont hide behind AC status and log in. Or send me an email.
StarTrekPhase2 - The Five Year Mission Continues!
Yes kids, you too can be an utter failure like RobertM, and spend 20 years around computers and only end up being a techie, lmao! Not only that, but his "management plan" is sure to crumble even the biggest corporations like CompUSA (which RobertM used to work at as a techie), because of his great "l33te skillz" (not).
I don't recall seeing a RobertM in anything worthwhile or that was news of any kind in the field of computing so who are you trying to fool, loser? Yourself? You're not pulling the wool over our eyes. You're a dime a dozen nothing and you know it. Apparently being a nobody suits you and makes you happy (or you can't achieve anything and are satisfied with your loser status).
CompUSA is outta business Long Island LOSER that you are... lol!
74% of ZERO = 0
20 yrs. and that's all you managed? Please, lol, you're making us all LAUGH at you. It also seems that you troll others from your posting history and you cannot take it when it gets done to you. That's hilariously droll. You can "dish it out" but, you cannot take it in return.
Is CompUSA where you worked still in business RobertM? No?? Yes, kids: You TOO can be a "real winner" like RobertM, & help drive your company INTO THE GROUND!
LMAO! Remember the RobertM business plan's MAIN EQUATION/FORMULA, lol:
74% of ZERO = 0
(Which isn't saying much either, I used to live in Massapequa Long Island on Ocean Avenue, & I worked for CableVision in their NOC - the area is HIGH INCOME/wealthy, so trying to "twist stats" over the rest of the nation (that's not doing as well mind you)? Dumb! Did you think you could "fool us" with b.s.? Again 74% of ZERO = 0).
A 74% profit in Long Island? EASY to achieve, especially by comparison to the rest of the nation & in the same CompUSA chain!
I know that - mainly because I lived there, for 1.5 yrs. working for CableVision's NOC (not far from it, as you know) in Syosset (iirc, it's been a few years since then, I rarely went out/travelled, it was ALL "work-work-work" just to survive costs in LI).
Long Island's WEALTHY, people spend there. It's not a "huge trick" to outdo the minimum requirements for departmental or store profits by comparison to the rest of the chain considering the rest of the nation's NOT as "well off" on "Strong Island" is per capita. It's the suburb of NYC basically.
So, your bragging on making a cut above your min. requirement in a high income area? LMAO, a joke. That's no achievement. It's luck by circumstance and location only.
Doesn't matter though: Your company FELL ON ITS FACE, & you were one of its mgt. team? Please... yes kids, you TOO can't HELP but FAIL with the RobertM "mgt. plan" (lol, where 74% of ZERO = 0, the main formula concerned here).
So, you want to know why I am doing this?
I looked at your post history this week. I saw that You trolled others here this week, in fact, in the past couple days.
(Seems you can dish it out but you cannot take it in return... you like? Think twice before you troll others boy. We can troll you back, and make you look quite stupid, easily. Especially someone who claims he's been around computers professionally for 20 or more years and all he has managed is to be a mere TECH!)
You don't understand ECONOMICS. Please - Don't try to b.s. us either, I saw your profile. You live on Long Island, correct?
You must work there also. Funny how you TRY to "fool us" on that account RobertM. Everyone knows that Long Island has a STRONG & wealthy client base in customers.
Still:
The TRUE "bottom-line" here, no matter WHAT you say though, is this (your "robertm formula for failure", lmao): 74% of ZERO = 0 and your company in CompUSA, of whom you were a mgt. person for ALLEGEDLY (you have no proof)? FOLDED, period. Fine leadership, such as yours, lol, does it and everytime!
As far as trolling though, RobertM? I saw your posts this week, you trolled others and got shot down for it. I am only letting YOU wear the shoe of the one being trolled this time. You like? How's it feel, RobertM??
Still, the absolutely funniest part is that after your ALLEGED 20 yrs. around computers, the best you could manage was being a TECHIE at CompUSA? LOL, please.
The TRUE "bottom-line" here, no matter WHAT you say though, is this (your "robertm formula for failure", lmao): 74% of ZERO = 0 and your company in CompUSA, of whom you were a mgt. person for ALLEGEDLY (you have no proof)? FOLDED, period.
("Fine leadership" (not), such as yours, lol, does it and everytime!)
As far as trolling though, RobertM?
I saw your posts this week, you trolled others and got shot down for it and, on the same grounds I am using now: Your job was a failure, and you, with allegedly 20 or more years around computers and just a techie at CompUSA? Please.
(I am only letting YOU wear the shoe of the one being trolled this time. You like? How's it feel, RobertM??)
Still, the absolutely funniest part is that after your ALLEGED 20 yrs. around computers, the best you could manage was being a TECHIE at CompUSA?
LOL, please.