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The more interesting question is how many multiples of existing growth will it be before Google start to use the data they collect in incredibly unfriendly ways
by hosay123 14y ago
The more interesting question is how many multiples of existing growth will it be before Google start to use the data they collect in incredibly unfriendly ways.
How will they push their stock price above $1000? $1200?
I'd like to suggest another metric: September 11s (or "9/11s"). How many 9/11s will it be before Google's reuse of the data they collect is popularly legitimized, in their new role as the nation's biggest defence contractor? This is an insane idea, but I fear not sufficiently insane. I'd peg it at under a quarter of one 9/11.
The company must grow somehow. It must keep growing. As it exhausts its old business areas and sacrifices any ideals it may have once held, you have to at least entertain these crazy outcomes.
- Samuel_Michon 14y agoTrue, Cyberdyne Systems didn't start out as a defense contractor either.
- mgkimsal 14y agoMaybe they could create an RSS reader, and keep track of analytics and behaviour on how people read and consume their favorite sites' content, then insert relevant ads in that experience?
- hosay123 14y agoOr perhaps they could create designer glasses, and use the two face recognition companies (Viewdle, Neven Vision) they have bought since 2006 to keep track of population behaviour, then sell relevant feeds to panicked (0.25 9/11s) or eagerly demanding (1.0 9/11s) governments.
- greetings 14y agoAnd then after it is widely used they could discontinue it.
- silentOpen 14y agoAs they push their own walled garden to compete with the decentralized model that nurtured them into their power.
- kybernetikos 14y agoStandards are the way that little players compete against near monopolies. They help the small companies and the consumers. That's why it can't be too surprising that when a little player turns into the main player, they suddenly lose enthusiasm for standards.