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Think you have a secret life? Think again.

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29 pointskkim12 comments

"Take all the web usage and YouTube video data Google has been acquiring about us all, glue it to our data down at the credit bureau, tie it to our mobile phone number and our mobile activity"...

Yahoo has as much, if not more data about us than Google - and for longer. Yahoo knows everyone I emailed for the past 10+ years (Yahoo! Mail), what links I find interesting (del.icio.us), what links I find interesting but don't want you to know about (Private del.icio.us), where I've been and who I meet (Flickr photos), who my trusted friends and family are (Flickr Contacts/Family), what online communities I take part in (Yahoo Groups) - and we haven't even touched on Yahoo Web Search History. Plus I've bought domains from them so they have my CC and home address.

If Yahoo wanted, I am sure they could build a frighteningly accurate dossier on most of us.

Why is it that all these Big Brother scenarios worry about Google finding out everything and more about us rather than Yahoo?

Is Yahoo such a has-been or has Google taken on quite the Sauron persona - the all-seeing eye?

Because Google has proven that they know how to index, and cluster, information better than anyone else. Having all the information in the world at your fingertips is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for omniscience; you must also know which box the ark of the covenant is in.

The important bit is the metadata plus the uniqueness of the phone number. Whereas an IP address or, as he notes, a SSN can be used by many people, how many people use the same cell number/phone? And the IP is tied to a specific location while the SSN has no real world significance except as a verifier. By contrast, it's easy to see if a phone number is live and where it is. What's better from a marketing perspective, especially since you're out in the world uniquely traveling around with it?

If that's the Google play - wow.

Soon, Google will be able to hire without interviewing.

I believe Google will make free service available on the 700 megahertz spectrum but I don't see them making the leap into identify verification -- that would even start to creep me out.

Wow, that was far-fetched.

I'm starting to wonder, is there a limit on the number of ad-based services we can have in the economy? (i.e. are there are fixed number of ad dollars to be spent)

There will always be advertising dollars available for:

1) companies that can increase sales by investing in ads 2) big companies where bad advertising can't be effectively measured

Probably not. Advertising is slowly becoming less like brainwashing and more like a valuable service to the consumer. Where there is value, there will be money. The only limit on that value I can think of will be reached when Google (or whoever) learns to read our minds perfectly.

There might be a limit, but until Google controls 100% of it they can continue to come up with products and steal advertising dollars from competitors.

I'm betting the Social Security number with 3,000 people using it must belong to the guy from Lifelock.

I see 1984 in our future. Eric Schmitt is Big Brother!!!

thats a lot of ifs.

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