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Concerns with Google Earth

The latest round of privacy (and other) concerns of various types are now hitting Google Earth:

Salon discusses how the alleged plot against JFK airport was being plotted with the images on Google Earth.
CNN discusses the ick factor of finding nosepickers in action on Google Earth imagery.

The first isn’t truly a privacy concern, but it crosses [...]

June 5th, 2007 | Category: data collection, google, local search, privacy, search engine features, tinfoil hats, web 2.0 | Comments are closed

Google & PPC

In all the hub-bub about Google Universal Search, and the impact of Web History/Personalization/iGoogle on results, there’s something I don’t know that I’ve seen, but seems like an inevitable next step:

Impact of Universal and History on the display of PPC.

One of the places where AdWords pales in comparison to the MSN AdCenter is in its [...]

May 23rd, 2007 | Category: PPC, SEM, SEO, advertising, data collection, google, online branding, search engine features, search results, tinfoil hats | One comment

Ceding Control & Its Hazards

I think Aaron Wall of SEOBook wrote a great post this week about Google and the ‘death’ of affiliate marketing. He really focuses on AdSense publishing, but I believe it goes further than that.

He doesn’t mention Google Analytics, but I think GA also factors into Google’s reach for control. There’s some extent to which I [...]

April 20th, 2007 | Category: advertising, analytics, data collection, databases, google, lead generation, marketing, privacy, search engine features, search results, tinfoil hats | Comments are closed

News of the Paranoid

Today’s big news:

Google revenue is up 60%. Google profit is up 69%
Google re-named Search History to Web History, and are pushing the toolbar with PR enabled to track it better.
Tinfoil futures are UP as I manufacture hats for myself, all my loved ones, and my cats.

Now, to be fair, there are ways to disable flowing [...]

April 19th, 2007 | Category: cats, data collection, databases, google, privacy, search engine features, search results, tinfoil hats | Comments are closed

New Prominence for Google Notebook?

Maybe I just haven’t been paying attention, but when did Google start showing ‘Note This?’ links in search results for signed-in users?

I know Notebook launched in April 2006, but I can’t recall having seen this show up like this prior to now:

Is this another collaborative filter-Web 2.0-data collection manuever? Or is it just a ‘hey, [...]

April 18th, 2007 | Category: data collection, google, search engine features, search results, social media, tinfoil hats, web 2.0 | Comments are closed

Google Ownz y00

The Wired interview with Google’s Eric Schmidt just confirms what I keep telling everyone who harps on the ‘Don’t be Evil!’ thing — ie, “But Google is GOOD! They have ‘Don’t Be Evil’ as a corporate motto!”

Me: Yeah, let’s define evil, shall we?

Google is pure Web 2.0 in the sense of how they collect and [...]

April 17th, 2007 | Category: PPC, advertising, analytics, data collection, databases, google, privacy, rant, search results, tinfoil hats, web 2.0 | Comments are closed