For the past year now I’ve been predicting that within the next ten Google will ‘take over the world’. Most people I tell this two think I’m crazy and this will never happen saying that Google is the best company ever and they will never turn evil. I tend to disagree.
Let me take just a few minutes to explain why I think this, and then at the bottom of this entry is a link to a flash video I found today with someone else thinking the same thing.
Facts – Google owns:
– Google is the most used search engine
– Gmail, while maybe not the most used email provider (maybe it is now?) it is definitely the most highly desired
– Orkut, while mostly blown over now is still a thriving social network site
– Google News is viewed as a #1 news site for many people
– Blogger is one of the leading blog sites and blogs are all over the news these days
– Keyhole offers a satalite imageing service
– Google Desktop Search
– Google Adsense – probably the most widly used advertising on the web these days (used even on this website although I haven’t seen any return yet)
– And much much more, plus all the things normal people like myself have come up with such as the random google image in the right sidebar.
My point to all of this is the following:
Through GMail Google stores and never deletes your email. They catalog it and can do a LOT with that data. With time google can write robots to parse the data to find out every bit of data about you, who you know, what you talk about, etc. Gmail bundled with Orkut Google really has a solid grip on your social network with more detail and structure than email alone. Google knows who [email protected] really is, where he lives, what his passtimes are, etc and can link it up with your email conversations. Now to get even further into your life they have the Google Desktop Search which has already been called on being invasive bypassing security on people’s PC’s and cataloging files that it shouldn’t.
Step back for a second, Google now knows who you know, what you talk about, details about every person, everything you say on your computer, what files you have, what is in each file, basically all of your Digital Data. Oh, also if you use the google search bar (IE plug-in) in advanced mode (default.. plus ohh! I want advanced features….) they track every webpage you go, although the desktop search tool does that as well. 0wned.
Next we start to see Google’s current revenue. Blogs, Keyhole, Adsense. Wow, if the inflated stock doesn’t make them enough $$$ then this sure helps. Although I don’t believe Google charges for blogger right now they are setting themselves up for it in the future if blogging ever takes off as a legitimate news source… News.. Google news is one of the most used news services to gather news from many sources, sorted automatically for relevance…
Now, just think if Google DID want to turn evil (assuming they aren’t already) how much of the market they already own. In the 90’s people switched search engines all the time, but moving email providers, etc is a lot harder to do. In a few more years they’ll have people so dependant on them and their products just like Microsoft people will be stuck with Google for better or.. worse.
More info on Google being evil is at google-watch.
Wow, well this was supposed to be a very short blog entry promoting a clip I saw today but I had to get my rant over with. Other then the Google-watch site that
Google WILL take over the world within 10 years
Previous post: Thoughts from the sky
Next post: 2005
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I think that’s a load of hooey. It’s nothing but your average conspiracy theory rubbish. It’s all speculation.
Besides, even if it did head down that path.. you’re not gonna be able to do much about it. Unless there’s a MAJOR shift in the American government/business relationship companies will continue to gain massive amounts of power.
Since Google started censoring various websites from their search engines (as seen with the beheadings and Democratic comedy elements upon various search phrases), I’ve often thought it quite possible Google would go evil. Censorship is the cruelest form of internet-fuckery. It keeps the people who most need to be informed and aware of things uninformed and clueless. Google, through censorship, has already begun a slide into damnation, of itself and of cyberspace, by virtue of being the most used and ‘respected’.
I do think it’s possible, after Googling beheadings after a few weeks (they must have gotten a shit load of angry emails), that Google will maybe, just maybe, not take the route of corruption. I’ve got my hopes they won’t, but am prepared should they go the way of most power-tripping governments (including the United States of America.)
For one I welcome our new search engine overseers.
as a user of gmail ever since it pretty much first debouted, im convinced even more and more that a future like this is not so far out of reach, google news, google translator, google maps, google mail, personalized google search engine options, plus its fast, simple, effective…., im interested to see what the world can bring