Google a privacy risk?
My reply to Daily Trojan Article
Of course Google has a blog. Google owns and runs one of the best blogging services around: Blogger.com.
In fact, collecting user data does allow Google to be very innovative. Already they’ve added many interesting, useful, and time-saving features for users willing to share data. For example, it’s very compelling to see graphs of my search trends over time. What I’ve searched for, and when.
Google is keeping ahead of the curve by analyzing large amounts of data very quickly. You can be sure that if Google doesn’t do it, someone else will.
For instance, why are you concerned about Google, who merely has your search queries, when there exists Facebook, a huge privacy concern that has nothing to do with Google? Facebook actually does have your personal data, and you can rest assured they will be exploiting it more and more, with targeted ads and personalized sponsor messages. These sponsored “news items” are already appearing in my News Feed.
And, of course, you can always opt-out. Clear your cookies after each session, don’t search while logged into a Google Account, and Google won’t know who you are. Then, search queries are used in aggregate, and aren’t tied to a personal identity. Unlike AOL, Google has never publicly released user search queries.
Also, Google is not the only company collecting your data. I’m sure DailyTrojan.com is, too. Whether the DT is smart enough to put the data to good use is a different issue. Therefore as a plea to humans everywhere, Googler or otherwise: Don’t be stupid.
I’ve worked for Google, but the views presented in this comment are entirely my own (they do not represent the company in any way).