4 ms·

From the outside, it seems to have reached a tipping point in the past year that is now getting quite dramatic. A whole string of heavy-handed, anti-user, and p

by lvs 8y ago

From the outside, it seems to have reached a tipping point in the past year that is now getting quite dramatic. A whole string of heavy-handed, anti-user, and privacy-hostile decisions. What just happened to the culture that would allow all this evil behavior? Or did we misunderstand it all along?

woranl 8y ago
Sundar Pichai is now CEO. What else do you expect?
- lvs 8y ago
  I guess that may be right. This is what you get when you put an MBA in charge of anything you care about.
- hammerdahl 8y ago
  I feel like this is bigger than just Google. It seems like all of Alphabet is tending in that direction.
  - maybebad 8y ago
    Isn't Alphabet the clear "parent" of Google... I'm biased, but we are witnessing the beginning of a monopoly that wasn't imaginable pre-internet. Old rich white men are trembling in their shoes... The take-over game but played better, sexier, and immune. My G-ma loves the Google, so easy even the 90 year olds get it
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
belltaco 8y ago
The bean counters have been taking over slowly at first, but now it's pretty fast.
computerfriend 8y ago
> Or did we misunderstand it all along? I think yes. Google has been considered "evil" by the tinfoil hat crowd for quite some time, and once again it has become apparent to the mainstream that they were right.
- singularity2001 8y ago
  Google died when Smith said you have no privacy now[0]. Well I have no Google now. Fallback almost never used. [0] can't find actual quote, did I dream? Quoth: “We know where you are. We know where you’ve been. We can more or less know what you’re thinking about”
  - rhizome 8y ago
    The quote I know along those lines is from Scott McNealy.
  - anvandare 8y ago
    I think you were dreaming of this, perhaps? https://www.eff.org/nl/deeplinks/2009/12/google-ceo-eric-schmidt-dismisses-privacy https://www.eff.org/nl/deeplinks/2009/12/google-ceo-eric-sch... I'm surprised that people keep being surprised about Google being just another company. Money first, money last.
  - icebraining 8y ago
    You didn't dream: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/10/04/google_ericisms/ https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/10/04/google_ericisms/
- cryoshon 8y ago
  >Google has been considered "evil" by the tinfoil hat crowd for quite some time, and once again it has become apparent to the mainstream that they were right it's almost as though the people with money benefit from marginalizing the people cynical enough to understand what they are doing.
- arminiusreturns 8y ago
jlawson 8y ago
Maybe it's human nature to only be able to focus on one moral conflict at a time. Now that Google's culture is focused on collective racial/gender justice, there's no oxygen left to put towards individual rights like privacy.
2muchcoffeeman 8y ago
Or did we misunderstand it all along? I’m really curious, what did you think their business model was going to be given they have free services? Surely the path they are on is the obvious one?
izacus 8y ago
> From the outside, it seems to have reached a tipping point in the past year that is now getting quite dramatic. There was no real tipping point - the media just noticed it's easy to get clicks if they repeatedly write about Google. Google was always Google and they had similar ethics for years now. It's pretty much why you also see all the Google articles on this page (just like you saw all the FB bashing a few months ago which now disappeared). I believe Reddit community calls this group behaviour a "circlejerk". People posting same content to reinforce their opinion.
maybebad 8y ago
I believe we are witnessing the result of a company offering not just a series of products but a whole lifestyle, and it is too hard for consumers to live without it. Best game plan you could ever imagine... Internet becomes connectivity, offer free search among connectivity, build products that promote connectivity, step 4: profit.
bb101 8y ago
From a mobile perspective, I used to be heavily invested in the Android ecosystem. Now I use an iPhone and and willingly hand over my Apple tax every few years and will continue to do so whilst I can afford it. Google's direction is a pity really, as Apple needs a strong competitor in the mobile market to maintain innovation momentum.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

by lvs 8y ago

woranl 8y ago

Sundar Pichai is now CEO. What else do you expect?

lvs 8y ago
I guess that may be right. This is what you get when you put an MBA in charge of anything you care about.
hammerdahl 8y ago
I feel like this is bigger than just Google. It seems like all of Alphabet is tending in that direction.
- maybebad 8y ago
  Isn't Alphabet the clear "parent" of Google... I'm biased, but we are witnessing the beginning of a monopoly that wasn't imaginable pre-internet. Old rich white men are trembling in their shoes... The take-over game but played better, sexier, and immune. My G-ma loves the Google, so easy even the 90 year olds get it
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

belltaco 8y ago

The bean counters have been taking over slowly at first, but now it's pretty fast.

computerfriend 8y ago

> Or did we misunderstand it all along? I think yes. Google has been considered "evil" by the tinfoil hat crowd for quite some time, and once again it has become apparent to the mainstream that they were right.

singularity2001 8y ago
Google died when Smith said you have no privacy now[0]. Well I have no Google now. Fallback almost never used. [0] can't find actual quote, did I dream? Quoth: “We know where you are. We know where you’ve been. We can more or less know what you’re thinking about”
- rhizome 8y ago
  The quote I know along those lines is from Scott McNealy.
- anvandare 8y ago
  I think you were dreaming of this, perhaps? https://www.eff.org/nl/deeplinks/2009/12/google-ceo-eric-schmidt-dismisses-privacy https://www.eff.org/nl/deeplinks/2009/12/google-ceo-eric-sch... I'm surprised that people keep being surprised about Google being just another company. Money first, money last.
- icebraining 8y ago
  You didn't dream: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/10/04/google_ericisms/ https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/10/04/google_ericisms/
cryoshon 8y ago
>Google has been considered "evil" by the tinfoil hat crowd for quite some time, and once again it has become apparent to the mainstream that they were right it's almost as though the people with money benefit from marginalizing the people cynical enough to understand what they are doing.
arminiusreturns 8y ago

jlawson 8y ago

Maybe it's human nature to only be able to focus on one moral conflict at a time. Now that Google's culture is focused on collective racial/gender justice, there's no oxygen left to put towards individual rights like privacy.

2muchcoffeeman 8y ago

Or did we misunderstand it all along? I’m really curious, what did you think their business model was going to be given they have free services? Surely the path they are on is the obvious one?

izacus 8y ago

> From the outside, it seems to have reached a tipping point in the past year that is now getting quite dramatic. There was no real tipping point - the media just noticed it's easy to get clicks if they repeatedly write about Google. Google was always Google and they had similar ethics for years now. It's pretty much why you also see all the Google articles on this page (just like you saw all the FB bashing a few months ago which now disappeared). I believe Reddit community calls this group behaviour a "circlejerk". People posting same content to reinforce their opinion.

maybebad 8y ago

I believe we are witnessing the result of a company offering not just a series of products but a whole lifestyle, and it is too hard for consumers to live without it. Best game plan you could ever imagine... Internet becomes connectivity, offer free search among connectivity, build products that promote connectivity, step 4: profit.

bb101 8y ago

From a mobile perspective, I used to be heavily invested in the Android ecosystem. Now I use an iPhone and and willingly hand over my Apple tax every few years and will continue to do so whilst I can afford it. Google's direction is a pity really, as Apple needs a strong competitor in the mobile market to maintain innovation momentum.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]