Have you ever heard the phrase 'if it's free, you're the product'?
That applies to google's free services. Your information is what they use to sell targeted ad-space and google make all of their money from understanding their users and selling ads to companies that want to put things in front of you.
a very misleading phrase, but one you accurately qualify.
Gonna miss latitude if I'm honest it was an efficient way of keeping tabs on our van driver to avoid ringing him asking where he is
latitude functionality will be rolled into Google+. Glympse is cool, but only shares for a max of 4 hours. the G+ version currently works like latitude - i.e. always share your location with selected people.
There's a lot of basic misunderstanding and manipulation about how Google uses your data. No human being ever sees it. It is completely automated.
In simplistic terms, the server picks up in your email that you're discussing chocolate, so shows you an ad for Cadbury. Or sees that you've recently discussed wallpaper, and B&Q have bought ads targetting people who want wallpaper so they show you that.
Whether you think this is an invasion of privacy or not is up to you. But to say "Google sells your information" implies that identifying information changes hands, or that companies have access to your data. They do not. Google sells the fact that they know there's a lot of people in Swindon talking about dog biscuits, or that people who recently discussed swimwear then go and book holidays.
Comments
a very misleading phrase, but one you accurately qualify.
latitude functionality will be rolled into Google+. Glympse is cool, but only shares for a max of 4 hours. the G+ version currently works like latitude - i.e. always share your location with selected people.
I didn't quite quote it correctly.
http://lifehacker.com/5697167/if-youre-not-paying-for-it-youre-the-product
VLC, Open Office, Firefox, imgburn and even non PC stuff like FM Radio.
So how come no one told us? The world seems to have turned full circle.
In simplistic terms, the server picks up in your email that you're discussing chocolate, so shows you an ad for Cadbury. Or sees that you've recently discussed wallpaper, and B&Q have bought ads targetting people who want wallpaper so they show you that.
Whether you think this is an invasion of privacy or not is up to you. But to say "Google sells your information" implies that identifying information changes hands, or that companies have access to your data. They do not. Google sells the fact that they know there's a lot of people in Swindon talking about dog biscuits, or that people who recently discussed swimwear then go and book holidays.