privacy
Google Reader & Search History
Monday, July 14th, 2008I have personal proof that your search history, when logged in to Google, is applied to other Google properties.
I’ve been using Google Reader as my RSS aggregator. The blogs I have subscribed in Reader fall into three categories: Search/Marketing, Bicycling, and maybe one or two blogs belonging to friends that are a mix of both [...]
Google Analytics Merits My Tinfoil Hat!
Saturday, June 21st, 2008Google is now providing ‘trend data’ to web site owners. Neato, eh?
If you read their FAQ, data is shared via the opt-in feature of Google Analytics, which various people have pointed out is hidden in the GA interface.
You can opt-out of the Google Analytics sharing, but you can’t opt your site out of the Trends [...]
City Requests Removal from Google Maps
Saturday, May 31st, 2008The Minneapolis Star-Tribune today reports that the city of North Oaks, Minnesota, has requested that all street-level images of their community be removed from Google Maps.
Google says that no community has ever issued such a blanket request. This doesn’t surprise me - North Oaks, sometimes known as the ‘Forbidden City,’ is somewhat unique. All roads [...]
Facebook is Not Your Private Bulletin Board
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008Items posted to Facebook are essentially public, and content should be considered in light of that fact. Public information can impact your life and employability.
Concerns with Google Earth
Tuesday, June 5th, 2007The 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 [...]
Ceding Control & Its Hazards
Friday, April 20th, 2007I 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 [...]
News of the Paranoid
Thursday, April 19th, 2007Today’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 [...]
Google Ownz y00
Tuesday, April 17th, 2007The 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 [...]
