dps musings

Is Google Maps a useful tool or a method for privately investigating the world’s habits?  

For some time now Google camera cars have been touring streets both in the UK and the USA capturing front lawns, drawn curtains as well as capturing those out on lunch breaks, let’s hope you are not spotted where you were not meant to be! All in an attempt to be a useful tool or is it just an invasion of our privacy? One street in the UK took action against the invasive eyes of the camera cars by denying entry to their street, passionate about their right to privacy, one man was quoted as saying ‘an Englishman’s home is his castle and he would be defend it.’ 

 So helpful is Google claiming to be, it has taken yet more in roads in to investigating you the public and defining your needs. How, you ask, Google now offers ‘behavioural targeting’ by collecting your personal data through market research, not the first company to do this, but with its other services it is posing a risk to your privacy. It does this by utilising our personal information collected from companies that advertise on its space. Google has also unobtrusively launched software packages that may seek to marry the divide between advertising and our mobile data. Think! someone could be producing a personal profile on your habits as you read this! Let’s hope the information is not sold on or worse lost. 

So ‘helpful’ is Google in trying to investigate your habits it is disguised its surveillance of you in terms of ‘ it’s for free’, however, as you know ‘nothing in this life is for free’ there is a personal cost involved here! Your Privacy! So the minute you cross that bridge and sign up for ‘mobile advertising’ you will effectively be signing over the right to be tracked! As yet there are data protection laws that prevent this intrusion as well as the customer not wanting to pay for this service, but alas Google is making the necessary in roads, you can override this protection and sign up for ‘free mobile advertising.’ This is one contract you will not want to sign up to without first reading and understanding the small print.  However, the word understand, is a simple action, but with the wording of the contract being so long and convoluted it can end up being buried in phrases as using ‘your information to provide other services’, ‘other services’ being surveillance of you for marketing purposes! Helpful hey? 

If they made this into a movie it would be called ‘Truman’ us being watched by Google!

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