Thanks for the compliment. I’m not all that smart—I’m just an opinionated bastard.
I hear what you’re saying. The borg has your information. But, so what? The borg already has that information. But really, why does that matter to you?
The perception is that when you’re sitting at your computer, that what you’re doing is “yours”. I guess I’ve been in the admin side of things too long, I’m too cynical, or I’m just getting fuckin’ old and crotchety. Or a combination of all of those. Regardless, I know that every time you sit down at a computer, what you’re doing is logged, tracked, and watched. It’s super easy to put on a tinfoil hat and sit inside our shielded rooms, comfortable in the incorrect perception that *they* are being kept at bay. But I’ve been here, here, and here and have seen what they do. They’re not being kept at bay, not even close.
I guess what I’m saying is that it’s not that I don’t care; it’s that having seen the things that are done inside those buildings, it’s just not worth it to fight the system, as the system is more powerful than we know.
OK, but moving on:–You’re pissed at Google, but really, that’s misplaced anger. If we look at Google’s “disclaimer” about their ad stuff, we see the following:
So, let’s take a look—who is this “Network Advertising Initiative”?
Looks like a bunch of companies that do targeting and demographic research, abandoned carts, contacts, and ……
Google and Yahoo.
But wait, digging deeper, we find that it’s run by Trevor Hughes.
Google him. You shouldn’t be angry at Google, they’re just a participating member. You should be angry at Trevor Hughes. He’s the one that’s in charge of the rulesets that you’re unhappy about.
But wait, hold the fuser and toner cartridge, should you really?
Do you get spam in your gmail account? No? Thank Trevor Hughes.
Do you get txt spams? No? Thank Trevor Hughes.
Do you get phone calls from funeral homes if you order a sympathy bouquet online? No? Thank Trevor Hughes.
Do you get pushed to websites based on the website you’re currently browsing (porn doesn’t count!) No? Thank Trevor, again.
But that doesn’t mean he wears a white hat though. He’s spent most of his career working for advertisers, trying to come up with a way to market and advertise –effectively– to people via the internet.
It’s late, and I’m sure you have enough to chew on whilst coming up to Fairbanks this weekend. My point is this: You’re pissed at Google, but you’re treating them as a scapegoat to a larger issue, run by people other than Brin and the Boys.
