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Google Foot in Mouth

I took a couple of days away from Redmond Report and immersed myself in the topic of datacenter efficiency. You can reap the fruits of my labor in the March issue of Redmond magazine. And if you have datacenter efficiency/green tips and experiences, please e-mail me at [email protected].

This distraction meant I couldn't take Google's Eric Schmidt to task for his inane, insane, imbecilic, illogical, insipid and idiotic comments (and no, I didn't look up those words on Google).

Even though the story is old, I've got something to say. Schmidt is a technical genius -- or at least nearly so, I'm not sure. But he is clearly socially inept. His take on Internet privacy is summarized by this inconceivably clueless recent quote: "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place." Who is the guy, Jimmy Swaggart?

Let's face it: Google pries into our lives, takes pictures of our homes when the kids are playing in the yard, and indexes much of our personal information. Google is the Patriot Act on steroids. First, we're supposed to give up our privacy for national security. Now, we should give it up for the greater glory of Google. Dang, I might have to go back to a typewriter and hand-delivered letters.

Are you as steamed as I am? Let 'er rip at [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on December 15, 2009


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