Another Google Gotcha
You might think I pick on Google a lot, and I do. There's a reason, though.
Google has power, and with power comes scrutiny. Just look at what a U.S. president
goes through. Every decision is scrutinized (sometimes not scrutinized enough)
as a way of keeping this power in check.
Google is as close to a president of the Internet as you can get. So when Google
admitted that it tracks
our Web moves and sells this information to marketers, I was concerned.
In fact, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo -- the Web's Big Three -- all do this!
And using deep-packet inspection, companies can learn exactly what we
do on the Web (are you getting nervous yet?). Fortunately, the Big Three don't
do deep-packet inspection. I'd like to keep it that way.
What about you? How much should Internet companies know about you? And does
Google have too much power? Thoughts welcome at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on August 13, 2008