i think it’s funny that most people think they should be worried after watching this. so what is the problem with privacy? we’re all entitled to it; we have rights over it; the right to ignore it, if that suits us!

no one likes being told that the government listens to our conversations or that car plates will have tracking chips in the future. why? because it invades our privacy. i don’t like it either! why? because i have no choice!

people worry, for example, about the outcomes of using free wifi from google, because of the facilitated ability it will give the company to collect “personal” data. i don’t care that google, or any other company, for that matter, collects my data. why? because:

• my web browsing data is not private. it has never been. but if that worries me i just hide my ass or use encryption. most people seem to worry about admins reading their mail, but gnupg is a great working tool; use it.
• my routes are not private, they have never been; cute girls can stalk me all they want, nothing i can do about it. although, if i’m carrying a wifi equiped device and don’t want the service providers to know about my roaming activity, i can just turn the device off. simple as that.
• though i usually leave the “collect data to provide feedback box” unchecked, i believe regular usage information can help service providers enhance their service, and i think it is good to know that your presence somehow has an effect in the ecosystem.
• i have other options, there’s always an alternative service.
• i get advertisements all the time, but i block them because they just don’t make sense. but imagine being around lunch time in a random street and get an ad about a delicious hamburger just the next street, hell *that* would be great!

of course this last argument has a problem. two problems, actually. the first problem is that most people don’t have the right tools to decide their actions, but that is an education problem, it’s the world we’ve grown up in. it started with television.

the second problem is far more complicated, and the only reason i’m pissed at google. google makes money placing ads. google places ads on the internet. google wants people to go to the internet. so google sells people a phone that can put them on the internet anywhere at anytime. google nexus is a great phone, it is the best phone ever. for a couple of weeks before the launch i seriously considered buying one, and i was really fond of the idea that google would change the market. but they didn’t, all they did was give the consumer the ability to choose if they want the phone locked or unlocked, that’s not new, not even in the states.

my problem with this scheme is that google makes money twice: selling the phone, then placing ads in it. i think google is a large enough company to really change the market and give the user two completely new options: pay for the phone, stay private; or take a free phone, let us make money out of how you use it.

you saw the video, there’s nothing wrong about google. google didn’t invade your privacy, google is just a tool. if you know there’s no way of using that tool against you then there’s nothing to be afraid of. take advantage, use it wisely!

and, seriously, see what kind of stuff the guy in the video wants to hide. that does not apply to you, you hope!

all the way from the beginning i was amazed about their policies regarding benefits for employers and their concern for the environment and society in general. despite some quirks i think google occupies well its place among responsible enterprise, especially given their respect for competition.

i have been using its services for a long time now, including the chrome browser now, and i have been given the privilege of trying some of their upcoming ones, like google wave. to tell the truth, after all the excitement from the first previews, trying it didn’t feel that good, and it really felt impossible, at least for the portuguese community, to replace e-mail and msn messenger. that’s something a few people agreed with me already, but with the concept of chrome os it really makes sense now. suddenly wave jumps from “no way, e-mail and msn will never die” to “well, if chrome os succeeds, wave will be the best communication tool”. the concept of the os isn’t new, and it makes sense for an awful lot of people, including me. the only problems i find in it could be privacy issues and reliable network connections for its usage, but that doesn’t depend on google and i think if anyone can make it work, it is google.

on top of things i believe only google could design, implement and deploy with success comes innovative technology. google chrome is faster to me than any other browser, despite seeming to be a bit of a memory hog, which shouldn’t be a problem with 2gb of ram almost without use during the last 3 years. and the only extension yet to come is something like flashgot, which i can live without anyway. but besides google chrome they even implement stuff that everyone needs. for example, something i hoped i could develop after college, which is search for something on the web without having to name or describe it, like symbols. they had the idea, took it a step further, and already have it working, on mobile phones, google goggles.

of course google won’t dominate the world, there is much more to this life than networks and computers, but it will certainly play an important role in everyone’s lives starting the next decade.