I’m reading Ken Auletta’s 2009 book Googled.
It is filled with privacy experts decrying Google.
I don’t share this concern. I think much of this is generational. Kids today are generally more comfortable sharing information about themselves on Facebook etc than their parents.
For as long as I’ve been online, I’ve been unable to avoid people freaking out about privacy. I’ve heard people worry about the innocuous Patriot Act (is there any documented case of this information being misued?). I don’t care if government computers track my phone calls if that will make my country significantly safer.
With MySpace and Facebook and blogs, people are sharing more information about themselves than ever before.
I’ve designed my life so that I can pretty much say and do what I want.
Looking at people on Facebook, I see that many of them are not particularly worried about privacy either.
As long as you are not a terrorist or some other kind of criminal, and as long as you are not pathologically afraid of being known, then Google and social media pose little threat.
I think Google is great in almost everything they have done. I have about 100 positive feelings about Google for every critical one. I wish I could develop a relationship with a woman this positive.
