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I consider it more a donation towards posterity than getting stiffed on some short term compensation. It's just an opinion, but if the things Google has create

I consider it more a donation towards posterity than getting stiffed on some short term compensation. It's just an opinion, but if the things Google has created and shared into the whole of human knowledge towards the betterment of future societies are still being used in a century for my grandkids (and the rest of humankind) to benefit from, then I think it's better than not having it because a few million people who couldn't have done it themselves said 'no' over a pittance. I can't speak for you, but my dying thoughts won't be a sour reflection on all of opportunities to monetize my existence I might have missed.

Pigo 10y ago
There is some trade off when you think of the benefits we get for free, in return, from Google. I barely recall what it was like to buy a map, writing down directions, and praying to God I didn't get thrown off on the way.
iainmerrick 10y ago
the things Google has created and shared into the whole of human knowledge Do they really share it, though? You can't download and reuse data from Google Maps or Street View the way you can from OpenStreetMap, say. I'm not saying this is a fatal problem. Google Maps is a lot more popular than OSM so the free-with-ads closed source approach clearly has a lot going for it. But the data isn't public, they own it.