I say that because it has some things in it that may bother you. Namely this according to The New York Times:
Google on Friday announced that it would soon be able to show users’ names, photos, ratings and comments in ads across the Web, endorsing marketers’ products.
Lovely. They aren’t alone. Take Facebook:
Facebook already runs similar endorsement ads. But on Thursday it, too, took a step to show personal information more broadly by changing its search settings to make it harder for users to hide from other people trying to find them on the social network.
That’s added to list of reasons why I don’t have a Facebook account. Here’s why this is bad:
Both companies characterized these changes as minor updates. They are, though, the latest example of the continual push by Web companies to collate the reams of personal information shared online in the chase for profits. As Twitter prepares to go public and faces pressures to become profitable, it too will increasingly need to figure out how to make money from the information it collects.
Google and Facebook say that with the most recent changes, they are trying to offer users more comprehensive and personalized services. The problem, privacy advocates say, is when Web companies use or display the personal information of users in ways the authors did not expect when they originally posted it.
Here’s my take. This is a privacy issue. I, and only I should be the one who decides what these companies get to use. For a company to do this by default is wrong and Google needs to get that message loud and clear. Now Google will say that this could only happen when you take an action (for example, +1 an item on Google+), and your images and name are only visible to contacts already designated for sharing. But that’s not good enough for me.
If you want to see what you’re getting into by using a Google service after November 11th, the full version is already online for your reading pleasure along with a summary. Or you can just not use a Google service and avoid this entirely.
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This entry was posted on October 12, 2013 at 12:39 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Facebook, Google, Privacy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Read The New Terms Of Service For Google? You Should…
I say that because it has some things in it that may bother you. Namely this according to The New York Times:
Google on Friday announced that it would soon be able to show users’ names, photos, ratings and comments in ads across the Web, endorsing marketers’ products.
Lovely. They aren’t alone. Take Facebook:
Facebook already runs similar endorsement ads. But on Thursday it, too, took a step to show personal information more broadly by changing its search settings to make it harder for users to hide from other people trying to find them on the social network.
That’s added to list of reasons why I don’t have a Facebook account. Here’s why this is bad:
Both companies characterized these changes as minor updates. They are, though, the latest example of the continual push by Web companies to collate the reams of personal information shared online in the chase for profits. As Twitter prepares to go public and faces pressures to become profitable, it too will increasingly need to figure out how to make money from the information it collects.
Google and Facebook say that with the most recent changes, they are trying to offer users more comprehensive and personalized services. The problem, privacy advocates say, is when Web companies use or display the personal information of users in ways the authors did not expect when they originally posted it.
Here’s my take. This is a privacy issue. I, and only I should be the one who decides what these companies get to use. For a company to do this by default is wrong and Google needs to get that message loud and clear. Now Google will say that this could only happen when you take an action (for example, +1 an item on Google+), and your images and name are only visible to contacts already designated for sharing. But that’s not good enough for me.
If you want to see what you’re getting into by using a Google service after November 11th, the full version is already online for your reading pleasure along with a summary. Or you can just not use a Google service and avoid this entirely.
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This entry was posted on October 12, 2013 at 12:39 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Facebook, Google, Privacy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.