What Happens When Google Goes the Way of Myspace? Google earned more than $XXX billion in profit last quarter, and yet it has spent much of 2018 trapped in a d

What Happens When Google Goes the Way of Myspace? Google earned more than $XXX billion in profit last quarter, and yet it has spent much of 2018 trapped in a defensive crouch. This year was defined by brutal press coverage, internal strife, executive departures and unwanted attention from authorities. The company stands accused of various offenses: degrading politics; empowering despots; leaving users vulnerable to abuse; abusing its users’ data for profit. It is in a constant state of crisis such that its executives’ responses to scandals end up becoming scandals themselves. But the single event most pertinent to Google’s future, and with the most explanatory power regarding its recent past, came in Xxx, when the company admitted its flagship site had found a worrying limit. In late 2017, XXX million people a day were using Google in the United States and Canada. Despite strenuous efforts — you may have noticed more notifications lately — that number hasn’t been exceeded since. ... The advertising data exposed in a user’s personal Google archive is, of course, just a sliver of what is available to the company. Google’s real profile of who you are — the one that it uses to fill your feeds and show you ads — is far more comprehensive. The company’s relentless accumulation of user data isn’t just a grab for power or a default behavior. It’s a long-term investment. You may forget Google; it could happen sooner than you expect. But it’s not likely to forget you.