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17% of UK Adults Believe Google Has Their Best Interests at Heart
- gordaco 14y agoThat's either a disturbing blindness or an exceedingly good PR department.
- sjtgraham 14y agoEither way, it's disturbing blindness.
- alan_cx 14y agoOk, so what about the percentages of people who positively vote for political parties? Do you mock them too? I'd say 17% is pretty decent.
- sjtgraham 14y agoWho is "mocking" anyone here? I think it's a shame, but I agree inevitable that anyone could be so misinformed as to believe that Google is altruistic.
- crockstar 14y agoIn the context of how others scored I would say 17% is fairly decent as well. However, most Hacker Newsers make up a small percentage of a standard "UK consumer." I thought this number was incredibly low given that most people's interaction with Google would be as the organisation with the stated intent "to organise the world's data" - not as a corporation that makes money from advertising. With that said, Google & Starbucks have been front and center in the mainstream news a lot lately in the UK with regards to "tax avoidance" claims.
- lucian1900 14y ago"17% of U.K. consumers trust Google, the same as trust religious institutions" This bit doesn't surprise me much. Many people I've talked to are rational, even disliking religion.
- arethuza 14y agoPersonally, I view religion in the UK as a relatively harmless social activity favoured by the elderly - a bit like bowls.
- arethuza 14y agoI like the Guardian's take on this: "After the collapse of Lehman Brothers, custard sales went through the roof as people sought refuge in nostalgia" http://www.guardian.co.uk/media-network/media-network-blog/2013/mar/11/recession-british-consumer-brands http://www.guardian.co.uk/media-network/media-network-blog/2...
- igouy 14y agoMissing "the glaringly obvious" -- custard is actual comfort food not just a yearning for past childhood.
- Evbn 14y agoComfort food is comforting because it is nostalgic.
- pessimizer 14y agoOr because it is rich in carbohydrates and fats, and super aromatic.
- Nux 14y ago17% is quite decent. I wonder how many think the same about Apple? It will be interesting to see the results of next year's survey. I see a definite down-trend in trusting Google, but mostly among techies.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- pablisco 14y agoHas anybody found the source Case Study? It's not on the mentioned companies websites.
- crockstar 14y agoI don't believe the full case study has been published yet.
- threeseed 14y agoIt is obviously a broad based study. So here are a few of the other questions: http://www.mirror.co.uk/money/personal-finance/future-britain-poll-reveals-fears-1860635 http://www.mirror.co.uk/money/personal-finance/future-britai...
- Tyrannosaurs 14y agoAnd most importantly the raw data and methodology...
- gjhiggins 14y agoNot specifically for this source but Ipsos MORI have been asking similar questions for quite a while, the latest results are here: http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/3133/Politicians-trusted-less-than-estate-agents-bankers-and-journalists.aspx http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchi... If the subject of perceptions of trust is of interest ... I've (mostly finished) a blog post about these trust perceptions which re-presents some of the Ipsos Mori stats in support of an attempt to plumb the implications for politics and the projection of power in the UK : https://www.bel-epa.com/posts/a-legislature-of-lemons.xml https://www.bel-epa.com/posts/a-legislature-of-lemons.xml
- threeseed 14y agoHere is the question and results: http://news.sky.com/story/1084991/britons-trust-google-as-much-as-religion http://news.sky.com/story/1084991/britons-trust-google-as-mu... As you can see any conclusions you can draw about Google are pointless since it was specifically benchmarked against politicians, banks etc which are universally disliked.
- polymatter 14y agoFor convenience. Question: "To what extent do the following have your best interests at heart?" NHS: 37% Police: 26% Charities: 21% Supermarkets: 19% Google: 17% Religious institutions: 17% Building societies: 15% Local authorities: 10% Private healthcare firms: 9% Facebook: 9% Lawyers: 8% Banks: 7% Media: 6% Utility companies: 6% Insurance companies: 5% Politicians: 3%
- new299 14y agoThe only wat this is true is if 17% of people hold stock in Google. Corporations are I believe legally obliged to only have their stock holders interests at heart. If this survey measures anythings it's just how much goodwill exists toward various organizations.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- ElliotMingee 14y agoPublicly traded American companies are obligated under fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of their shareholders. They are not, however, required to have _only_ their stock holders interests at heart.
- iand 14y agoQuite. If a company wants to maximise shareholder value then it needs to appreciate that its shareholders may value more than money.
- antihero 14y agoHonestly, I don't have the problem with the commodification of my data - if they can make money from it and provide me with things that are useful, so be it. However, I don't think many people really understand what's happening.
- mike-cardwell 14y agoPresumably with the caveats: They don't leak your data, and they don't use it in any of the multitude of legal manners that you probably haven't considered but would disapprove of if you had considered them. Oh, and that the data doesn't incriminate you in something you didn't do. Basically, you're relying on a combination of the good nature of a morally neutral corporation, and luck. You may be lucky, you may not.
- GhotiFish 14y agoIf I can add: It shouldn't incriminate you in something you did do, as well. because what is and isn't legal can often come down to who's taking their medication in our respective governments.
- emeidi 14y agoTrue Beliebers
- verygoodyear 14y agoWhy do they put large categories such as 'Supermarkets' and 'Banks' next to specific companies like 'Google' or 'Facebook'. Surely 'Search engines' or 'Social media sites' would be more appropriate?
- Evbn 14y agoThat is a rather vague question. Google has 50K hearts.
- jdotjdot 14y agoI am both astounded and encouraged by the fact that the NHS has such a high trust rating. I wonder how that could factor into the ongoing American health care debate.
- frobozz 14y agoReally? I'm shocked and horrified that it's so low, same with the police. Their entire purpose is the health of the nation. They have no other stakeholders. They should score close to 100%. What do those 63% believe is at the heart of the NHS, and why? How can we fix it? All that said, I can't imagine any private company scoring anywhere near as high as 37%, regardless of what their mission might be.
- summerdown2 14y agoFor me, the problem is creeping privatisation. Were the NHS better funded and supported by government I would feel a lot more like it had my interests at heart. The problem for me isn't the NHS on its own, which I think is great ... but rather political interference diluting the mission and redirecting it for economic and populist ends.
- venomsnake 14y agoOn a side note 83% of UK consumers are not childishly naive ...