6 ms·

I'm all for big game hunting but taking down Google would be a gutpunch to every Gmail user ever

by tomc1985 5y ago

stubish 5y ago
Gmail can still exist without Google in its current form, or without Google entirely. It is likely one of those services that does not require surveillance to remain profitable, and competitors would be falling over themselves to claim the data and domain names if Google claimed otherwise. Losing integration to other Google services would likely win more hearts than gutpunch users.
Jonsvt 5y ago
I think this is one of the big misinformation being propagated. That somehow you would not be able to get GMail or other services if Google is not allowed to collect information. The reality is that Google did just fine before they did surveillance-based ads and they can do just fine when they stop doing them as well. There are other ad systems and Google can do just fine using normal ads. That being said, there are great alternatives to GMail that you can use, both free and paid. FastMail, Proton Mail, Tutanote and Vivaldi.net mail are just a few options you might want to try out.
- mateo411 5y ago
  What was Google's business model before they sold ads?
  - Jonsvt 5y ago
    Google started as a search engine. Their results were accurate and there were no ads. Gradually they started doing ads on search results, related to the search itself. This was better than what many of the competitors at the time were doing, which was for paid searches to be at the top. Gradually Google became more and more an ad company. In 2007 they bought DoubleClick that was one of the leading ad companies on the Internet. This was part of them moving towards providing ads not only on search results, but on sites as well. At the time most ads were site or context sensitive. So Google has been making money off ads for a long time. More or less from the beginning. The big change, however, was the move to surveillance-based ads, where the ads depends not on the site or page you are viewing, but on the person viewing the ad. That is where it went all wrong.
    - mateo411 5y ago
      Sure, Google started as a Search Engine, but it's monetization strategy has always been to serve ads. According to Wikipedia it first released Google AdWords in 2000. It became a public company in 2004.
stjohnswarts 5y ago
can't they just advertise based on what's in the email rather than keeping a profile on you? Not a lot of people want to see google go away, we just want them to stop being asses and get broken up.
- Jonsvt 5y ago
  I do think reading your mail for ads is another level of surveillance-based advertising. It is also quite personal.

I'm all for big game hunting but taking down Google would be a gutpunch to every Gmail user ever

Gmail can still exist without Google in its current form, or without Google entirely. It is likely one of those services that does not require surveillance to remain profitable, and competitors would be falling over themselves to claim the data and domain names if Google claimed otherwise. Losing integration to other Google services would likely win more hearts than gutpunch users.

Jonsvt 5y ago

I think this is one of the big misinformation being propagated. That somehow you would not be able to get GMail or other services if Google is not allowed to collect information. The reality is that Google did just fine before they did surveillance-based ads and they can do just fine when they stop doing them as well. There are other ad systems and Google can do just fine using normal ads. That being said, there are great alternatives to GMail that you can use, both free and paid. FastMail, Proton Mail, Tutanote and Vivaldi.net mail are just a few options you might want to try out.

mateo411 5y ago
What was Google's business model before they sold ads?
- Jonsvt 5y ago
  Google started as a search engine. Their results were accurate and there were no ads. Gradually they started doing ads on search results, related to the search itself. This was better than what many of the competitors at the time were doing, which was for paid searches to be at the top. Gradually Google became more and more an ad company. In 2007 they bought DoubleClick that was one of the leading ad companies on the Internet. This was part of them moving towards providing ads not only on search results, but on sites as well. At the time most ads were site or context sensitive. So Google has been making money off ads for a long time. More or less from the beginning. The big change, however, was the move to surveillance-based ads, where the ads depends not on the site or page you are viewing, but on the person viewing the ad. That is where it went all wrong.
  - mateo411 5y ago
    Sure, Google started as a Search Engine, but it's monetization strategy has always been to serve ads. According to Wikipedia it first released Google AdWords in 2000. It became a public company in 2004.

stjohnswarts 5y ago

can't they just advertise based on what's in the email rather than keeping a profile on you? Not a lot of people want to see google go away, we just want them to stop being asses and get broken up.

Jonsvt 5y ago
I do think reading your mail for ads is another level of surveillance-based advertising. It is also quite personal.