Our favorite privacy violator has updated Hangouts to include SMS (text) integration. According to a fierce debate, Google opted not to include SMS backups to their cloud in fear of user privacy concerns.
Google is already all over my privacy so uploading my sms’ to their cloud doesn’t bother me. The stuff they got on me through my use of Gmail and Youtube and Chrome and Search and Android and Google Docs and Google Keep and Google Plus and Google Drive does bother me.
Google Keep is cool because it has search. However, they should let you share cards so that individual cards can become visible to several people. A Public checklist for example, or instructions to give someone. They should be editable by participants or locked but visible. I think it could work and it teaches Google what type of topics or interests similar groups of people share and consequently lets Google build a better relationship map in their database. Gotta make sure Google gets their share too.
Google’s slogan is do no evil. After reading the latest headlines about Google’s decision to censor The Pirate Bay in its auto-complete results it had me wondering if it’s time to abandon ship. It’s not the first time Google censors things – they have censored many piracy-related search terms over the past to pull their weight in the war against online piracy. But what are the implications?
If you are cataloging the web, should you really tamper with the results? When you grow big and powerful enough things eventually start to change, even if you are do-no-evil-Google. They are no longer a simple cataloger of the web but a massive multinational corporation employing thousands of people in over 30 countries and hundreds of cities around the world. Their catalog has grown so big and influential that they feel inclined to employ a moral compass to guide people in what they believe to be the right direction.
And this is where Google stumbles down the slippery slope of loosing touch with its humble beginnings. Google no longer feels like the online unbiased buddy you could turn to with any question whenever you needed help with finding your way digitally. Maybe DuckDuckGo will serve us better with its privacy and anonymity.
