Google In Your Backyard: Has the internet gone far beyond mainstream advertising and invasion of privacy?

From internet cookies to your backyard, what next? Spying in your bathroom?

According to a recent Wall Street Journal investigation, see article by Jessica E. Vascellaro of The Wall Street Journal “Google Agonizes on Privacy As Ad World Vaults Ahead” (Tuesday, August 10, 2010, A1, or see video) Google senior executives are reviewing their confidential “vision statement” assessing how far they should go in monetizing from it’s massive database, which tracks all forms of internet usage patterns from what video you upload on YouTube, your Gmail messages and your physical home address, to your checkout transactions and what websites you visit.  All this enables Google to customize the ads you see, a term they call intraspace advertising. 

So as you search the web using Google for information, let's say about cars, Google will inundate you with automobile ads which is turning your internet service experience, that you pay for with your own money, for your own personal Web search use, into a plethora of target marketing gimmicks, not only annoying for consumers but essentially invading privacy.  This type of internet advertising self dealing has been going on for some time now, but is becoming more rampant as new technologies are added coupled with the use of thousands of third-party businesses.  Obviously, in the long run,  this is going to do more harm than good.

Statistics from comScore indicate that in the month of June Google had the highest internet usage of all the global web companies with 75% of global Internet users (943.8 million). Included in Google’s vision statement was the admission that while some of their uses of databases are safe, some are “NOT” safe.

Doesn't Google's data-trading marketplace and use of users' personal information from various sources equate to essentially exploiting individuals without their permission? Is the public going to allow Google to essentially cyber-stalk for the sake of target advertising?

Have Google’s aggressions gone far beyond “mainstream advertising” to virtually snooping in backyards? Are Government Officials and Google abusing their power and illegally spying on the U.S. population?

According to Aaron Dyles  of Infowars.com (8/2/2010), local government officials in Riverhead, N.Y. are using Google’s satellite technology to snoop in residents backyards and issue fines to those that have pools without permits. All this without the legal protocol of acquiring a search warrant! Is this a violation of our constitutional rights? From internet cookies to your backyard, what next?  Spying in your bathroom?

Please answer this LinkedIn poll. Should something be done to prevent Google and other internet companies from invading consumer privacy on the Web?


by Gloria Buono Daly
Founder of AllThingsDigitalMarketing.com