Google: The Big Brother I Never Wanted

I admit to being one of those people who view Google as an amazing entity that does no wrong. In fact it has come to the point where I refer to Google as tool, kind of like my own super dictionary. I no longer say “I will look that up online”  instead I say “I’ll Google it,” if you ask me a question I do not know “I’ll Google it” will be my response. So, one can only imagine how much of a ‘shock’ it was to read an article comparing Google to an undercover dictator.

Anyway, the articles really opened up my mind to things. It never crossed my mind that Google could be playing the big brother I never wanted—watching my every move, waiting to trap me in the predatory vender lock-in I try to avoid. I guess you can say I was “… [focusing] so much on the miracles of Google, [I was blinded] to the ways in which Google exerts control over its domain.”

The Goooglization of Everything by Siva Vaidhyanathan really stood out to me because I found it interesting how Google has developed into this monopolizing internet power with the ability to determine the sites that will be move on and the sites that will be shown the door. Google is basically American Idol for the World Wide Web. Additionally, the article addresses the way Google courts us into giving it the permission to monitor what we do online so they can trap us into the predatory vender lock-in also known as Google’s advertising auction program. It is because of this advertisement can now follow us wherever we freaking go. I can only imagine what Google is going to be capable of in a few years, monitoring our emails (if they are not already doing it) perhaps?

WWLS: What Would Lanier Say?