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Google, Privacy, and the Rest of Us

Occurred: 11/25/2008

The New York Times's David Carr had an interesting column yesterday on Google's appeal: how one is willing to fritter away bits of privacy in exchange for Google's services. (Put another way: No, GMail is not "free"; neither are the Google Maps, Google Calendar, or the host of other popular services—but instead of a cash transaction, you're bartering away bits of information about yourself.) Why don't we view Google as a malevolent corporate overlord in the manner of, say, Microsoft? Part of it lies in the answer one Google executive gave to Carr: You can pick and choose which bits of Google-ware you want to use; Microsoft got in trouble when it tried to bind you to all its products by making them one seamless group. Google can be seamless or modular. And Google grins goofily while doing it. But more on this answer in a second.

Reference/Source: http://www.usnews.com/blogs/robert-schlesinger/2008/11/25/google-privacy-and-the-rest-of-us.html

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