Don’t be scared, it’s just Google
This is why some people should just go back in their cave.
So I read a couple articles (these are links):
The one from ZDNet
…And then the one from NetworkedWorld.
You see class, the rule is:
No information you present or submit on the internet is private. Ever.
You might be able to hide it, but putting anything on the internet and expecting it to be secure is like sticking your hand on a hot iron and saying you wont get burnt.
This amounts to lame media scare tactics from ZDNet & Microsoft (who later used the linked article to make Office 365 look a little better on the 20th.) Bottom line. Here’s what actually happened.
It’s like putting a cookie in a 6-year-old’s mouth and telling him not to eat it.
A person from the media tries to use a false alias on Google and gets banned from Google+ for it. She complains that Google’s methods of finding her out were shady.
It’s like getting pulled over and offering a donut to get out of a ticket.
This would all be so much easier if people actually read their ULA’s. Free email entitles the provider access to said data as long as no personal information is ever distributed in a manner that would identify that person. In the same manner all the big companies like checking on employee email, Google, while not in the habit of sifting through your dirty laundry, uses the content of the emails to gauge advertizements, they’ve been doing this for YEARS. It’s part of your ULA, which , since the Buzz disaster, and gone edgy and it cuts on both sides, you have to opt out, AND they are starting to keep an eye on user registration information, that you actually gave them the right to do by applying for an account with Google.
It’s like painting a big “L” on your forehead just before a job interview and expecting to get the job.
The bottom line is this. If you don’t want Big Everything to use your personal information in identifying you on the net, stop putting yourself out there. Being involved with the media on the net isn’t exactly the best way to stay anonymous, or guard your identity. Using Google as anyone but yourself is actually a violation of their ULA so in all that complaining, what it comes down to is a large online temper tantrum that Microsoft was able to use in jabbing Google in their war for online Apps dominance.
It’s like telling the neighborhood gossip you’re boinking the next-door neighbor and expecting that the little secret will never get out.
In summation:
Don’t stick your damn hand on a hot iron.
Don’t give 6-year-olds a cookie unless you expect them to eat it.
Don’t offer the police a donut when you get pulled over.
Don’t paint an “L” on your forehead just before a job interview.
Stop boinking the next door neighbor, or at least stop telling people about it.
…and most importantly, never provide ANYONE with information about yourself online and expect it to stay hidden.
Thanks for reading!
-Tony
