g knows what you did last summer
Posted by Anurag in
world
Wednesday, May 3. 2006
Google sometimes makes all of us wonder, a faboulous email service, 2.6GB and ever growing inbox,industry leading search service, messenger, homepage builder, calendar, orkut social networking, blogger, news, googlegroups.. you think of it and google offers that service.. if not then it will start offering it from next April fool's day
Why is Google doing all this? People say they have revolutionalised the email and search market so much, so that all other look like playing a catching up game. But think of it in this way, Google allows you to use those services only if you have a Google Account. Something like your profile by which Google refers to you. Who knows google might be operating an internal Google Human Profiling Services?
Google never asked you to join Gmail service. Its your friends who asked you to signup and sent you invitations. And this whole mesh of friends was started by a few initial Gmail users. Every Gmail user was invited by some other existing Gmail user. This means google has an extremely large friend's circle diagram at their disposal, using which they can calculate human statistics with pinpoint accuracy, where other such providers can only guess.
Google now offers you to signup to their search engine service so that your search history is available for later reference (to them, most importantly).. Google can now build up a personal profile of your online tastes, and what information you generally search for. Using Orkut they can identify who your friends are, they could even identify what you and your friend look like in real life using their orkut photo albums.
If you extensively use Google Calendar service then they can find out all about your appointments, schedules and reminders.. Google is even offering Wifi service all over the city of San Fransisco, that means they can even locate you where you are.. If you are using their Google Talk instant messaging services then they even know what you talk about and with whom... Google has huuge storage space at its disposal, and whatever you delete from your inbox is permanently archived by them..
If you regularly access google services, then using your IP, they also know from which part on earth you connect to their service. Finding name of your ISP and then later finding details of your location is a matter of child's play.
Now the question is, how could this be of so much importance to anyone? But then think from the perspective of a prospective employer.. If you mention a Gmail.com email account as contact email address in your resume, then your employer can ask Google Human Profiling Services and find out details about what kind of emails you get, and out of them what kind of emails you generally reply to.. what kind of friend circle to you have.. what kind of relationship do you keep with women/men..
for example, if you are subscribed to Python and PHP mailing lists/newsgroups, then you are somewhat interested in Python and PHP. If you sometimes reply to Python mailing list then you are a pro in that language. And if you often keep replying with python code, then you might be an expert in python. If you repeatedly keep answering several threads in python mailing lists, then you could well be a guru...
And If your google search profile indicates that you have been searching for python code snippets for past 3 years then it means you have been into python programming for past 3 years probably. Your employer will get a positive signal from Google's human profiling services.. and your employer will not hesitate in employing you.
Well yes, normal companies and organisations wont be able to utilize this excellent info, but such human profiles are definately very important to CIA/RAW/NASA.
You just can't be sure who is keeping track of you, can you? Google surely knows what everyone of us did last summer.
Nice article...I like google & its products but they sure make me paranoid sometimes.
Who knows the next time I'm looking for a job the Boss sitting infront of me knows everything about me even before I give a formal introduction courtesy google ! jeez man 
Well said yaar, never thought of that but doesnt google protect the user's info? Do they really give info to ppl w/o our knowledge? I know thats possible but according to thier privacy terms they arent supposed to do that >.>
Yes anurag it's true of the potential of google and maybe they use it as you say too.
But as a company I love google cos it's products are innovtive and their way of thinking too just as you have pointed out.
But hasn't google gone public now? So, do you think it can be as scary as you make it out to be?
And well all of us use google don't we. I guess we will have to accept this as a way of future and many companies will follow this trend only way out is to pass a law against collecting such information by a company. But that can be very difficult because if USA passes such a law, it won't be difficult for a giant like google to shift it's base elsewhere. And well there are many places where they may be able to operate while collecting personal information without any problems.
IMO google won't see it much in their interests to give out information. They main strength so far of google has been that people have trusted it. So, if people stop trusting it google will never remain the google we all know, use and trust.
Nice analogy, there anurag..
Alarms ?? i believe in googles philosophy.. 'DO NO EVIL' 
This whole post can be explained in just one abbreviation...FUD!
Fear..Uncertainty...Doubt and that too non-existent. IMHO, before writing so much of text about how google can use and share your private information, you should have actually bothered to read their privacy policy documents. Since you did not do it, I would like to quote something from it.
Uses
We may use personal information to provide the services you've requested, including services that display customized content and advertising.
We may also use personal information for auditing, research and analysis to operate and improve Google technologies and services.
We may share "aggregated non-personal information" with third parties outside of Google.
When we use third parties to assist us in processing your personal information, we require that they comply with our Privacy Policy and any other appropriate confidentiality and security measures.
We may also share information with third parties in limited circumstances, including when complying with legal process, preventing fraud or imminent harm, and ensuring the security of our network and services.
Google processes personal information on our servers in the United States of America and in other countries. In some cases, we process personal information on a server outside your own country.
Here "aggregated non-personal information" means "information that is recorded about users and collected into groups so that it no longer reflects or references an individually identifiable user".
So you should be afraid of using Google services, if you are a terrorist or a criminal but you can be rest assured that Google will not be a tell-tale to your prospective employer, even if you are a Python n00b
Dear Eddie, there's no point in getting all worked up. Please read the entire post again. I'm mere indicating a possibility along with examples. Nowhere did i say that they actually invaded my privacy.
You perhaps fail to get the point i wanted to make. I'm emphasising that its that easy for Google to create your profile. Google's privacy policies come into effect only when they actually voilate them. Creating a profile is a matter of (let's say) 10 SQL commands (or whatever QL they use).
And then again, do consider the fact that its extremely easy to create your profile. Whether they actually do or not is upto them and CIA. Remember, there is a thin line that divides FUD and opposition.
Besides, I'd like to have your views on this news report: [ http://news.com.com/Yahoo+accused+of+helping+jail+another+Chinese+writer/2100-1028_3-6062733.html ] , wherein certain chinese blogger was arrested and jailed.. on the basis of certain confidential usage details as submitted by Yahoo! Inc to chinese authorities. He too was a common man like you and I. So, how do define how small those identifiable groups can be?
First of all I would like to clarify that I am not getting "worked up" AT ALL. I just presented my views and if the language/words used in expressing them looked to be in any kind of a harsh tone then I must say that it was unintended.
Now, coming to the point of Google creating a profile on our usage habits and how easy it is for them. Well this speculation can be true about any internet service we use. Even the ISPs we use (for example I use Sify) can filter the pages we visit and create a profile on our p0rn visits or the kind of movies/music we download from P2P sites but do we then get all paranoid? Even if Google creates a profile about you, does it matter to you or anyone else? If it does, will you stop using Google services? If you answer in affirmative, then I would like to know that which services you will use that will ensure all your activities to happen in 100% stealth mode?
It is so easy for most of the sites to create a profile about us, then why target Google specifically? People have been using Yahoo! mail, notepad, calendar, flickr, messenger, groups, games and what not since very long but I have never read any such paranoia about it; then why Google? Has it become our habit to become paranoid and oppose anyone or anything as soon as it grows in stature? (Mind you, yours is not the only article that has talked about this paranoia. I have read more of them.)
You linked me to a news piece that talks about a blogger getting arrested for "seeking to use violent means to impose democracy" (exact words from the page). IMHO every responsible site owner or service provider has a moral duty to give details about a person who is doing something unlawful. This person was certainly not a common man like you and I. He was doing something which is not considered legal in his country i.e. talking against the government and egging people to use violence. He had every chance of getting turned in and Yahoo! obliged. Just to express my opinion more clearly using an example: if you start providing illegal content on your blog (say child p0rn), should your service provider create a profile on your activities and give your details to the legal authorities? In my opinion, yes they should. If you want to use internet for illegal activities that are against a nation or are criminal in nature then you are bound to come under the hammer of law. Don't blame service providers for it
Yes exactly, you're reading my mind.. Its extremely easy for ANY service provider to create usage profile for ANY person. And who is actually doing it is a matter of wait and watch.
And as for singling out google i'd say, there's a thin line dividing FUD and skepticism.
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