9" monochrome
Join Date: May 2004
Location: 🇦🇺
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My God - they're an unstoppable juggernaut! (article came from here)
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Formerly "jmahe19"
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All Hail Google!!!
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Iowa
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I've said it before, I'll say it again. BEWARE GOOGLEZON!!
Whoever guesses the reference correctly gets a gold star . |
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Subdued and Medicated
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I find it disturbing that people would welcome this technology from Google so easily. (Present company excluded ) Do they realize this is designed for incredible precise targeted advertising more than public intrest, right? I for one don't want google or amazon to pinpoint my location, know what time I get home, log on, what sites I visit, where I vacation/visit etc.
I find this technology too invasive. I'll keep my remaining shred of privacy. I can visit Google on my computer, but STAY OUT OF MY HOUSE! |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Promise Land of Trustafarians
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Eh, I'll just give a hint instead: 2014 |
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Yarp
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Road Warrior
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It's interesting that the main criticism people have of google is that they are data farming EVERYTHING and EVERYONE for some ulterior and nefarious goal. Are there really grounds for this other than "they have the CAPABILITY to do it!"? |
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9" monochrome
Join Date: May 2004
Location: 🇦🇺
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Well once google can prove to the word that they can data farm everything ... then they can sell advertising. Specifically targeted advertising, which companies would love because it means they spend their promotion budgets wisely. This is the real motive I think. They corner the market and then can generate huge sums of advertising revenue. Yep, it's *that* big!
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Passing by
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: London, Europe
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rams it
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Seattle
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I guess you can look at it two ways. Yahoo and MSN, both high-speed internet providers, are big players in the search and advertising business, what makes google any different?
And then you can look at it like Ebby, and I lean more this way. If Microsoft were the ones doing this, the world would be in an uproar over privacy. I don't get why everyone thinks the people at Google are somehow different then every other company... |
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Yarp
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Road Warrior
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I mean, who knows, maybe google will get power-mad an start aggressively knocking other companies out of the running, buying people out, filing lawsuits, antitrust, privacy invasion, restrictions...etc...etc. But, so far, they haven't, and people like them for it, and things are good. It is phenomenal though, Google came out of nowhere(more or less), almost every geek claims to have been one of the first people using the search engine(you know, for that indie cred), They've managed to win the hearts and minds of the internet populace, whilst providing some truly kick ass services. What's more, people genuinely trust them, for some unknown reason. When, yes, they could very well be just another big company looking out only for themselves without any real care for their customer base. Or maybe they are different I guess time will tell, as they continue to step outside of the realm of the internet search business. |
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rams it
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Seattle
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On second thought, Google might not be so bad. |
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9" monochrome
Join Date: May 2004
Location: 🇦🇺
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I lean more towrad Ebby's point of view personally. The sheen of the new kid on the block is wearing out and even though Google offers some great services, they face a potential backlash when people strart receiving unsolicited SMSs on their phone telling them of a local sale, for example. Targeted advertising is better than spam no doubt - but if it is unsolicited in the first place it is not too far removed from junk mail.
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This is an alarmist comment but it has the beginnings of Big Brother about it. One more thing ... have to fix a typo. Quote:
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Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
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Dang I just moved from the SF Bay Area to go to college in Vancouver, Oh well, I didn't live close enoguh that I'd feel the effect.
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Subdued and Medicated
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Standing back, I see what worries me most about this network is that I don't know Google well enough to know what to expect. I don't know where Google draws the line in the sand. Microsoft... easy. They continuously go too far and I expect that now. But I think Google, when it comes to data accumulation and instant application, is faster and more streamlined than Microsoft will ever be. Match that with good 'ol American greed and they can justify almost everything they do with the information they collect.
I can only speculate how far this can go and I have not heard the slightest whisper on any limit for the sake of privacy. I hate to live in a glass-is-half-empty world, but if you don't read between the lines, you might as well touch your toes now. Last edited by Ebby : 2005-10-06 at 21:59. |
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9" monochrome
Join Date: May 2004
Location: 🇦🇺
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Absolutely - if people don't know what's going on now, they are going to be taking it hard up the arse later and be incredibly pissed off about it.
I couldn't imagine having to pay for an SMS that I received for some stupid advertising, for example. Oh and typo fixes 2, 3 & 4: Quote:
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Yarp
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Road Warrior
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Depends on the plan. Most basic plans charge 10 cents or less for each TXT sent and received. But, many slightly upgraded plans offer unlimited. I know with verizon you can take on unlimited TXT and picture messaging for $5/month more. |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Paris, France
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Google does nothing in the public interest, just like every other public company. Google's talk about having a "mission is to organise the world's information" is pure hogwash, not least because only a tiny fraction of the world's information is online.
Can you imagine how much it will cost to provide Wi-Fi across San Francisco? Google can afford to go on wild adventures like this because the huge cost is being met by giddy shareholders at the moment. I'm pretty sure the people at Google haven't got a clue where half of their initiatives will lead, but with so much cash, they can afford to wait and see. At some point Google shareholders are going to realise that this is no wiser than what was going on in the late nineties. Hopefully that will happen before Google becomes omnipotent. |
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Yarp
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Road Warrior
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So, you think that google's success, initiative and drive is all smoke and mirrors surrounding a deeper seated plot to have omnipotent control over all of our vital info(assumedly for the purpose of ads and such)?
Or did I read that wrong. Care to back up any of your claims? |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Paris, France
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Are any of my claims controversial? Public companies exist to make money. Did you think otherwise? Google isn't giving the people of San Francisco free wireless internet out of the goodness of its heart! If Google wanted to help people, it would give free wireless internet to people who could use it but would be unable to pay for it. There are lots of schools in developing nations that need free internet slightly more than the city of San Francisco.
Google is successful primarily because of good luck, like most successful companies. Smart management has taken advantage of this luck and made a boatload of money, partly from gullible shareholders. In 1887 Lord Acton wrote: "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority." His statement has been shown to be true on countless occasions since. Do you think Google, an American tech company in the 21st century, is going resist this tendency? Last edited by Dorian Gray : 2005-10-09 at 08:27. Reason: Spelling error |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Promise Land of Trustafarians
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People said the same thing when Gmail was announced.
And when they launched Google Talk. And when they bought Blogger. And when they launched Orkut. And when they launched Google Local/Maps. The list goes on. But have they actually become evil? No, they continue to provide great services for free. I'm not worried about Google. |
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Yarp
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Road Warrior
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Furthermore, google IS helping people in san fran, just because they aren't yet providing internet for people who could use it but cannot afford it(which, people like that exist in san fran too you know) doesn't mean that they aren't helping people in general. Rome wasn't built in a day and all that. Quote:
Do you think apple has been so successful in the past 2 years because of good luck too? Quote:
Do I believe google to be infallibly good? Of course not. Might they turn sour and begin to exploit people in the future? It is certainly a possibility. So are a lot of things. What I do know is. So far, Google has become one of the most successful internet companies ever in terms of outright growth, popular opinion, and quality of services. They have done so by adopting a modern business model that actually maximizes public benefit whilst still achieving them substantial profits. I don't see any valid reason for them to change their strategy, even if they have the capability. So far, no one in this thread has provided me with any other than "they're a company, and I'm scared of companies" |
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