I agree that Google has a staggering collection of...

2010-03-16T18:39:38.099-04:00

I agree that Google has a staggering collection of personal information that could very easily be used for nefarious purposes. But so far they've shown to be better than most other organizations in keeping it that way -- refusing to hand it over to the government, and not getting hacked.

As far as Street View is concerned, however, I feel that anything visible from a public street is public. Besides that, they have a service where you can flag things for "fuzzing" if you have a problem with them.

Privacy may be one thing, but you need to consider...

2010-03-15T12:08:13.957-04:00

Privacy may be one thing, but you need to consider what Google's doing with that information - as well as how Google is connecting the dots.

Example 1: Google can connect your surfing habits across all the sites that you visit if you have google toolbar installed. Which means they can connect your shopping habits at amazon with your searches for books with the blogs you read. Individually maybe not a big deal. Collectively, a big issue.

Secondly Google doesn't mind making money off of people's private affairs - or at least what people would by default assume is private. Google's streetview shows a recognizable picture of my wife out front of my office. And their view of my house shows my ATV's in my wide open garage door. You drop by and snap a pic, that's one thing. Google takes a pic of every street in the country and publishes it online without recourse, with the intention of making money from it, that's another thing entirely - and is a breach of privacy.

Comments on Jason M. Hanley: Google Buzz Privacy blah blah blah

I agree that Google has a staggering collection of...

Privacy may be one thing, but you need to consider...