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The sentence from Google is a falsehood. It claims that the tracking is done for the user, and implies that this is their only intention. The actual truth is th

The sentence from Google is a falsehood. It claims that the tracking is done for the user, and implies that this is their only intention. The actual truth is that Google only does what's "good" for the user as long as it improves their market position and/or makes them money. To have a position of "well, they do care about theirs users, even if it is to make money off of them" is intellectually dishonest because you're ignoring the implications of this -- that Google, in the end, has a drive to improve its own profits and market share. Obviously Google is made up of lots of different people and there are non-corporate wings that do actual good things, but this doesn't excuse the basic profit motive that must exist. Google doesn't care if you're getting the best experience from Facebook... they still want you to use Google+. They only want to target ads at me so that I click on them and they get more money. Google cares about my online wellbeing as much as Colgate cares about my teeth.

nl 15y ago
Now that is Bullshit. Yes, Google makes money from their advertising. But Google does things that directly limit their ability to make money from advertising, when those decisons are in the interest of consumers. Take the whole design and UX of Chrome. There are many, many ways Google could have changed the design to make more money from it, and yet they haven't because they aren't in the interests of the users. Additionally many (both at Google and elsewhere) believe (and can show evidence) that advertising can improve the user experience when it is done properly. Companies (especially those with a share structure like Google's) can exist to care about more than just making money.
- padolsey 15y ago
  Google chrome isn't exactly a good example, considering that it's the only browser I've ever heard of embedding advertisements in its default homepage - http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/laptops/google-using-chrome-browser-to-flog-chromebooks-1042498 http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/laptops/googl...
  - ma2rten 15y ago
    I remember Firefox also had Thunderbird ads on it's homepage at some point. Google could have done much worse imo.
  - nl 15y ago
    The Safari homepage cross promotes. The IE home page cross promotes and/or has paid advertising (depending on your market). Even Firefox has done cross promotion occasionally. I don't use Opera often, but I don't think I've seen advertising on their dial-page thing. Is there some critical distinction I'm missing?
- padolsey 15y ago
  Also, could you provide an example of where advertising improves the user experience?
  - nl 15y ago
    Netflix and Amazon recommendation systems.
  - jlees 15y ago
    In today's heavily SEOd world, sometimes the AdWords ads are actually more helpful than the first 10 results. It's always a sad moment when that happens, but in certain verticals it's becoming almost inevitable despite everyone's best efforts. An example (there are probably many better): I was looking for spas in London the other day, and a lot of the results seemed pretty dodgy - tantric therapy? no thanks! - but the ads for Groupon and competing services reminded me that I might be able to get a good daily deal and led me to explore quite a few options that weren't in the search results. Disclaimer: I work for Google, but not on any advertising-related products (unless you want to take the stand that every Google product is advertising-related; thought I'd head off that reply in advance).
    - pandeiro 15y ago
      Similarly with health-related queries. When you have a serious problem, you're after any kind of information that might help. In my personal case, several of the ads returned more interesting info than the first few pages of algorithm-ranked results.
  - dasil003 15y ago
    It improves the user experience by allowing amazing free services to exist. You're being entirely too cynical about this. Yes the profit motive exists for corporations. So what? It exists for individuals too. Do you only do volunteer work because anything else would be selling out? Seeking a profit does not imply moral bankruptcy. This sort of thinking is a knee-jerk reaction to the de-humanization of commerce and interaction via the internet and call centers. But don't forget that companies are still made up of people, and it's still possible to have a great relationship with a company, even a very large one. Granted, Google is one of the worst in this regard, but let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
- zobzu 15y ago
  I think there's always a fine line between the users and the company's interest. That's because if the users have 0 interest, the company will not succeed. So it's always about finding the right balance between "keeping enough user interest" while "maximizing company's interest". That's what Google does. They do that well. Many companies maximize the company interest too much and fail due to that. Few companies maximize the user's interest (I wont dare saying too much, because I'm a user), and fail due to that (unfortunately).

nl 15y ago

Now that is Bullshit. Yes, Google makes money from their advertising. But Google does things that directly limit their ability to make money from advertising, when those decisons are in the interest of consumers. Take the whole design and UX of Chrome. There are many, many ways Google could have changed the design to make more money from it, and yet they haven't because they aren't in the interests of the users. Additionally many (both at Google and elsewhere) believe (and can show evidence) that advertising can improve the user experience when it is done properly. Companies (especially those with a share structure like Google's) can exist to care about more than just making money.

padolsey 15y ago
Google chrome isn't exactly a good example, considering that it's the only browser I've ever heard of embedding advertisements in its default homepage - http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/laptops/google-using-chrome-browser-to-flog-chromebooks-1042498 http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/laptops/googl...
- ma2rten 15y ago
  I remember Firefox also had Thunderbird ads on it's homepage at some point. Google could have done much worse imo.
- nl 15y ago
  The Safari homepage cross promotes. The IE home page cross promotes and/or has paid advertising (depending on your market). Even Firefox has done cross promotion occasionally. I don't use Opera often, but I don't think I've seen advertising on their dial-page thing. Is there some critical distinction I'm missing?
padolsey 15y ago
Also, could you provide an example of where advertising improves the user experience?
- nl 15y ago
  Netflix and Amazon recommendation systems.
- jlees 15y ago
  In today's heavily SEOd world, sometimes the AdWords ads are actually more helpful than the first 10 results. It's always a sad moment when that happens, but in certain verticals it's becoming almost inevitable despite everyone's best efforts. An example (there are probably many better): I was looking for spas in London the other day, and a lot of the results seemed pretty dodgy - tantric therapy? no thanks! - but the ads for Groupon and competing services reminded me that I might be able to get a good daily deal and led me to explore quite a few options that weren't in the search results. Disclaimer: I work for Google, but not on any advertising-related products (unless you want to take the stand that every Google product is advertising-related; thought I'd head off that reply in advance).
  - pandeiro 15y ago
    Similarly with health-related queries. When you have a serious problem, you're after any kind of information that might help. In my personal case, several of the ads returned more interesting info than the first few pages of algorithm-ranked results.
- dasil003 15y ago
  It improves the user experience by allowing amazing free services to exist. You're being entirely too cynical about this. Yes the profit motive exists for corporations. So what? It exists for individuals too. Do you only do volunteer work because anything else would be selling out? Seeking a profit does not imply moral bankruptcy. This sort of thinking is a knee-jerk reaction to the de-humanization of commerce and interaction via the internet and call centers. But don't forget that companies are still made up of people, and it's still possible to have a great relationship with a company, even a very large one. Granted, Google is one of the worst in this regard, but let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
zobzu 15y ago
I think there's always a fine line between the users and the company's interest. That's because if the users have 0 interest, the company will not succeed. So it's always about finding the right balance between "keeping enough user interest" while "maximizing company's interest". That's what Google does. They do that well. Many companies maximize the company interest too much and fail due to that. Few companies maximize the user's interest (I wont dare saying too much, because I'm a user), and fail due to that (unfortunately).