The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
I realized last week how closely I am tied to Google. I was giving a presentation at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg on technology in classrooms when someone stopped me after the presentation was over with a few specific questions. So as we sat and discussed things, I began to notice that over and over again, when they asked me about a possible classroom solution, I had to go back to Google. Best search engine for graphics? Just use Google Images. What about for an RSS reader? Well, in my classroom, all of my kids use iGoogle, allowing them to design personalized homepages, but I handle larger amounts of information so I use Google Reader. What about for kids who donÕt have access to things like an office suite at home? Google docs works great I enthused. It is an online suite of office software that is all free that can be used from any computer. You no longer need to worry about having Word or your software not being able to open your files. I could have gone on and talked about GoogleÕs gmail e-mail service, their calendar software or even Google maps, which I use a lot when traveling someplace new; but I didnÕt. I had to cut myself off when I realized I must be sounding like a commercial. But the trouble is that I am tied heavily into Google. Just as many people used to complain about having all of their eggs in one place with Microsoft, many people are now in the this same quandary with Google. But the trouble with it, is that Google is good. How can you argue with the worldÕs largest online storage for e-mail? How can we complain when they give us for free an office suite comparable to products worth hundreds of dollars? But the trouble comes, of course, if they ever decide that they donÕt want us to have it for free anymore. This is always one option. What happens in a year from now if Google decides that they want to charge, even several dollars each month, for access to all of these different services? Are we going to walk away from the hundreds of documents and e-mails we have stashed away? No. We really wonÕt have a choice. We will have to pay. But Google is smart and they probably wonÕt do that because they have something much more important and valuable than our money; they have our data. When gmail first came out, there was a huge uproar from privacy advocates because Google had publicly announced plans to electronically scan every e-mail for keywords and then place relevant ads alongside of them. ItÕs simple, really. LetÕs say that IÕm e-mailing back and forth about a new technology product with a colleague. GoogleÕs servers automatically scan our e-mails and I get simple, non-intrusive ads in the margins of my e-mail. To be honest, I never even notice these ads. I donÕt think IÕve ever clicked on one, but they are there. It would not be hard at all for Google to do this same thing with every document and spreadsheet that I produce. Google already saves everyoneÕs search history. You can actually go back through GoogleÕs servers and search your own search history if you are looking for something. Even if you donÕt have a Google account, they have your IP address, the number that goes with your computer every time you go online. Putting all of this data together is much more valuable to Google than making a few dollars off of my account. They can search my e-mail, my documents to see what I am writing about, my RSS reader to see what I am reading about, and put this all together with my search history, forming a wonderfully complete profile of how I spend my time online. WouldnÕt this be a great product to offer to advertisers who can target their marketing directly at me? In this quarter, Google will surpass Microsoft as the worldÕs largest and most profitable technology company. Started by two guys in their college dorm room in 1997, GoogleÕs motto from the beginning was ÒDonÕt Be Evil,Ó a direct reference against the power of Microsoft. Now I wonder how we are ensuring they are carefully looking after our data. ([email protected])
