QPrint E-mail story Most e-mailed Change text size Is Google's data grinder dangerous?It wants to know more about us than we know ourselves.By Andrew Keen, ANDREW KEEN is the author of "The Cult of the Amateur." ak@aftertv.com.July 12, 2007 WHAT DOES Google want? Having successfully become our personal librarian, Google now wants to be our personal oracle. It wants to learn all about us, know us better than we know ourselves, to transform itself from a search engine into a psychoanalyst's couch or a priest's confessional. Google's search engine is the best place to learn what Google wants. Type "Eric Schmidt London May 22" into Google, and you can read about a May interview the Google chief executive gave to journalists in London. Here is how he described what he hoped the search engine would look like in five years: "The goal is to enable Google users to be able to ask the question such as 'What shall I do tomorrow?' And 'What job shall I take?' "Schmidt's goal is not inconsiderable: By 2012, he wants Google to be able to tell all of us what we want. This technology, what Google co-founder Larry Page calls the "perfect search engine," might not only replace our shrinks but also all those marketing professionals whose livelihoods are based on predicting — or guessing — consumer desires.Schmidt acknowledges that Google is still far from this goal. As he told the London journalists: "We cannot even answer the most basic questions because we don't know enough about you. That is the most important aspect of Google's expansion."So where is Google expanding? How is it planning to know more about us? Many — if not most — users don't read the user agreement and thus aren't aware that Google already stores every query we type in.The next stage is a personalized Web service called iGoogle. Schmidt, who perhaps not coincidentally sits on the board of Apple, regards its success as the key to knowing us better than we know ourselves. iGoogle is growing into a tightly-knit suite of services — personalized homepage, search engine, blog, e-mail system, mini-program gadgets, Web-browsing history, etc. — that together will create the world's most intimate information database. On iGoogle, we all get to aggregate our lives, consciously or not, so artificially intelligent software can sort out our desires. It will piece together our recent blog posts, where we've been online, our e-commerce history and cultural interests. It will amass so much information about each of us that eventually it will be able to logically determine what we want to do tomorrow and what job we want.The real question, of course, is whether what Google wants is what we want too. Do we really want Google digesting so much intimate data about us? Could iGoogle actually be a remix of "1984's" Room 101 — that Orwellian dystopia in which our most secret desires and most repressed fears are revealed?Any comparison with 20th century, top-down totalitarianism is, perhaps, a little fanciful. After all, nobody can force us to use iGoogle. And — in contrast to Yahoo and Microsoft (which have no limits on how long they hang on to our personal data) — Google has committed to retaining data for only 18 months. Still, if iGoogle turns out to be half as wise about each of us as Schmidt predicts, then this artificial intelligence will challenge traditional privacy rights as well as provide us with an excuse to deny responsibility for our own actions. What happens, for example, when the government demands access to our iGoogle records? And will we be able to sue iGoogle if it advises us to make an unwise career decision? Schmidt, I suspect, would like us to imagine Google as a public service, thereby affirming the company's "do no evil" credo. But Google is not our friend. Schmidt's iGoogle vision of the future is not altruistic, and his company is not a nonprofit group dedicated to the realization of human self-understanding. Worth more than $150 billion on the public market, Google is by far the dominant Internet advertising outlet — according to Nielsen ratings, it reaches about 70% of the global Internet audience. Just in the first quarter of 2007, Google's revenue from its online properties was up 76% from the previous year. Personal data are Google's most valuable currency, its crown jewels. The more Google knows our desires, the more targeted advertising it can serve up to us and the more revenue it can extract from these advertisers. What does Google really want? Google wants to dominate. Its proposed $3.1-billion acquisition of DoubleClick threatens to make the company utterly dominant in the online advertising business. The $1.65-billion acquisition of YouTube last year made it by far the dominant player in the online video market. And, with a personalized service like iGoogle, the company is seeking to become the algorithmic monopolist of our online behavior. So when Eric Schmidt says Google wants to know us better than we know ourselves, he is talking to his shareholders rather than us. As a Silicon Valley old-timer, trust me on this one. I know Google better than it knows itself.

QWhy does Warren Buffet and Eric Schmidt (CEO of Google, 6.6 billion net worth)Warren Buffett is one of the most wealthiest men in the world. He is the very definition of capitalism and is probably the most financially savvy people on earth. He is a billionaire many times over.Furthermore, another billionaire, Google founder and CEO Eric E. Schmidt endorsed Senator Obama. Eric E. Schmidt is another very powerful capitalist.McCain and Palin are now attacking Obama as a socialist, with their "spread the wealth" speeches. They even have said recently that he is a (gasp) communist!If Obama is a socialist or a communist, then why would one of the most dominant capitalists of our time support him? Warren Buffett is no fool, he is the embodiment of capitalism and one of the smartest capitalists in the world and of all time. Why would he endorse Obama if Obama is a socialist? Eric Schmidt is also a multi-billionaire capitalist, why would he endorse Obama if he were a communist?Do these endorsements poke holes in McCain's whole "Obama's a socialist or communist" theme?Can't anyone answer the question?Why do Buffett and Schmidt endorse Obama IF he is a communist? Why would two of the most intelligent capitalists endorse someone YOU claim to be a communist?Could it be that Obama is NOT a communist?OK Patrick,Then what about Schmidt, CEO of Google, or the many other billionaires and millionaires that support Obama?

QWarren Buffett is one of the most wealthiest men in the world. He is the very definition of capitalism and is probably the most financially savvy people on earth. He is a billionaire many times over.Furthermore, another billionaire, (6.6 billion net worth) Google founder and CEO Eric E. Schmidt endorsed Senator Obama. Eric E. Schmidt is another very powerful capitalist.McCain and Palin are now attacking Obama as a socialist, with their "spread the wealth" speeches. They even have said recently that he is a (gasp) communist!If Obama is a socialist or a communist, then why would one of the most dominant capitalists of our time support him? Warren Buffett is no fool, he is the embodiment of capitalism and one of the smartest capitalists in the world and of all time. Why would he endorse Obama if Obama is a socialist? Eric Schmidt is also a multi-billionaire capitalist, why would he endorse Obama if he were a communist?Do these endorsements poke holes in McCain's whole "Obama's a socialist or communist" theme?Oh I get it, they are not capitalists anymore because they are rich. I see, so that must mean that if I were to make billions of dollars in a capitalistic market, I then become a communist once I reach a billion dollars? I see, that must be why Warren Buffett is endorsing Obama, not because Obama is a capitalist, but because Buffett is a communist liberal, right?Still doesn't make sense, If Buffet were to endorse Obama and Obama is a communist, then he would be putting all of his wealth at risk of being seized by government control, like what Russia did during the Bolshevik revolution.Buffett is a capitalist.Buffett supports capitalismBuffet supports Obama.So how is Obama a communist?

QGoogle says China licence renewed by governmentPage last updated at 15:09 GMT, Friday, 9 July 2010 16:09 UK * E-mail this to a friend * Printable versionGoogle logo outside its Beijing office The Chinese government has been in a long-running dispute with GoogleThe Chinese government has renewed Google's licence to operate in China, the internet giant has said, ending a long-running stand-off between the two.Google gave no details of the licence renewal.There had been speculation China would revoke the licence after Google began redirecting Chinese users to its unfiltered search site in Hong Kong.But last month, in a conciliatory move towards Beijing, Google said it would no longer automatically redirect users.AnalysisContinue reading the main storyRory Cellan-Jones,Technology correspondent, BBC NewsThe battle between Google and the Chinese government appears to have ended in a score-draw.Google can truthfully say that it has stopped censoring search results in China, fulfilling the promise it made at the end of last year. Its Chinese search business is effectively moribund in the country but it can continue to operate in other areas like music, so that Chinese citizens remain aware of its brand.The Chinese government has made sure that its citizens cannot receive unfiltered search results because searches have to pass back from Hong Kong through the firewall where sensitive material can be removed.A source at Google said: "We've had a lot of messages from China saying don't let Google go dark -we've managed to do that while staying true to our principles. "Instead, Chinese users would be sent to a "landing page", which would send them to the Hong Kong site."We are very pleased that the government has renewed our ICP (internet content provider) licence and we look forward to continuing to provide web search and local products to our users in China," Google's lawyer David Drummond said in an e-mailed statement.Google's share price rose 2.8% in Friday trading following the announcement.On Thursday, Google boss Eric Schmidt said that he expected the Chinese government to renew the licence.'Cyber attack'Google has had a long history of run-ins with the Chinese authorities, but without a licence granted by Beijing, it cannot operate in China."Our operations in China are completely at the discretion of the Chinese government," Mr Schmidt has said.In January, Google said it might pull out of China following what it called a "sophisticated" cyber attack originating from the country.The attacks targeted the e-mail accounts of Chinese human rights activists, along with the computers and infrastructure of Google and several other US firms.GOOGLE CHINA TIMELINEContinue reading the main story * January 2006: Google launches in China * March 2009: China blocks access to YouTube * June 2009: China introduces filtering software on all new PCs * January 2010: Google says it may pull out of China after cyber attacks * January 2010: China denounces US criticism of its internet controls * March 2010: China's state media attacks Google for close ties with the White House * March 2010: Google says will automatically redirect China customers to uncensored Hong Kong site * June 2010: Google says China customers now have to actively click on Hong Kong site * July 2010: China renews Google licenceFollowing the threat to withdraw, some passers-by laid flowers outside Google's offices to thank the company for standing up for its principles.The US government even issued a statement saying it was "disappointed" that Google and China had not been able to resolve their differences.'Issues remain'The licence renewal is key to Google. Losing business in China, which already has more internet users than any other country despite relatively low penetration, could harm the company's future growth prospects.Analysts welcomed the renewal, but warned that fundamental differences between Google and China remained."It is good news for the Chinese consumer and good news for the Chinese internet industry that Google is still available in the country in some shape or form," said Ted Dean at Beijing-based business advisory firm BDA."But many of the issues around why Google shut down its Chinese search page in the first place are still there."Elinor Leung, at investment firm CLSA in Hong Kong, went even further, arguing that "this doesn't really change anything about Google's position in China. The redirection to its Hong Kong site is ongoing so it is the same problem as before".

QDo in the $1 a year club (people who are so ridiculously rich that they can make $1 a year and still wipe their asses with hundred dollar bills) have to pay federal income tax or any other taxes?i.e. Eric Schmidt google CEOthis is a URL for more infooopshttp://www.life.com/image/100022886/in-gallery/49321/people-who-work-for-1

QThe real most powerful people in the world might have incentives for people not to realize how powerful they are. What types of people do you think weild enormous power but are left off this list?1: Barack Obama 2: Hu Jintao 3: Nicolas Sarkozy 4-5-6: Economic Triumvirate 7: Gordon Brown 8: Angela Merkel 9: Vladimir Putin 10: Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud 11: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei 12: Kim Jong Il 13-14: The Clintons 15: Timothy Geithner 16: Gen. David Petraeus 17: Sonia Gandhi 18: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva 19: Warren Buffett 20: Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani 21: Nuri al-Maliki 22-23: The Philanthropists 24: Nancy Pelosi 25: Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan 26: Mike Duke 27: Rahm Emanuel 28: Eric Schmidt 29: Jamie Dimon 30-31: Friends of Barack 32: Dominique Strauss-Kahn 33: Rex Tillerson 34: Steve Jobs 35: John Lasseter 36: Michael Bloomberg 37: Pope Benedict XVI 38: Katsuaki Watanabe 39: Rupert Murdoch 40: Jeff Bezos 41: Shahrukh Khan 42: Osama bin Laden 43: Hassan Nasrallah 44: Dr. Margaret Chan 45: Carlos Slim Helú 46: The Dalai Lama 47: Oprah Winfrey 48: Amr Khaled 49: E. A. Adeboye 50: Jim RogersOr, who do you think might belong higher or lower on the list?

QWho was there and why? A. Shadow government. Help spread the word. The main stream media is the lying to YOU!http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/bilderberg_list_2008.htmlpartialRice, Condoleezza, Secretary of StateTrichet, Jean-Claude, President, European Central BankZoellick, Robert B. President, The World Bank GroupAlexander, Keith B., Director, National Security Agency Bernanke, Ben S., Chairman, Board of Governors, Federal Reserve SystemSchmidt, Eric, Chairman of the Executive Committee and CEO, GoogleRockefeller, David, Former Chairman, Chase Manhattan Bank NLD, Orange, H.R.H., the Prince of Daschle, Thomas A., Former US Senator and Senate Majority LeaderBEL Philippe, H.R.H., PrinceSanford, Mark, Governor of South CarolinaSebelius, Kathleen, Governor of Kansas Ford, Jr., Harold E., Vice Chairman, Merill Lynch & Co., Inc. Geithner, Timothy F., President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of New York Gigot, Paul, Editorial Page Editor, The Wall Street Journal

QI don't understand how I was allowed to put this team together, but they're killing everybody else in my league...Ryan Howard, Carlos Delgado, Bobby Abreu, Carlos Beltran, Vlad Guererro, Travis Hafner, Scott Podsednik, Aramis Ramirez, Eric Chavez, Johnny Estrada, Juan Castillo, Omar VizquelPitchers-Mariano Rivera, John Papelbon, Bob Wickman...Jason Schmidt, Roger Clemens, Jake Peavey, Chris Young, E. Santana, O. Hernandez

QAdams,Douglas Adams,Robert Ahern, JerryAldiss,Brian Alexander,Lloyd Allston,Aaron Anderson,Kevin J. Anderson,Poul Anthony,Piers Anvil,Chris Applegate,K.A.Armstrong,Kelly Arthur,KeriAsaro,Cathrine Asimov,Isaac Asprin,Robert Attanasio,A.A. Bain,Darrell Banks,Iain Bardsley,Michele Barker,CliveBarnes,Arthur K. Baum,L.Frank Baxter,Stephen Beagle,Peter S. Bear,Greg Benford,GregoryBerg,Carol Bester,Alfred Betancuort,John Gregory Bishop,Anne Blake,AnitaBova,Ben Bradbury,Ray Bradley,Marion Zimmer Brennan,MarieBriggs,Patricia Brin,David Brockmann,SuzanneBrooks,Terry Brown,Mary Brunner,John Brust,Steven Bujold,Lois McMasterBull,Emma Bunch,Chris Burroughs,Edgar Rice Busby,S.M. Butcher,Jim Butler,Octavia Cadigan,Pat Caidin,Martin Caine,RachelCallander,Don Canavan,Trudi Card,Orson Scott Carey,Jacqueline Carver,Jeffrey Castaneda,Carlos Chalker,Jack I. Cherryh,C.J.Chester,Deborah Christopher,John Clarke,Arthur C. Clement,HalCook,GlenCook,Rick Cooper,Louise Cooper,Susan Crichton,Michael Dahl,RolandDaley,Brian Dalmas,John Darren Shan Davidson,Mary Janice DeCamp,I.Sprague DeChancie,John Deitz,Tom DelRey,Lester Delany,Samuel DeLint,Charles Dick,Philip K. Dickson,Gordon Dietz,William C. Donaldson,Stephen R. Douglas,L.Warren Douglass,Sara Doyle&McDonald Drake,David Duane,DianeDuncan,DaveEdding,David Elliot,Kate Ellison,Harlan Elrod,P.N.Fallon,Jennifer Farland,David Farmer,Phillip Jose Feehan,Christine Feintuch,David Feist,Raymond E. Flewelling,Lynn Flint,Eric Flint,Kenneth Foley,Gaelen Forstchen,Wiliam Forsyth, KateForward,Robert Foster,Alan Dean Frankowski,LeoFriedman,C.S.Freisner,Esther Furey,Maggie Gabaldon,Diana Gaiman,NeilGardner,Craig Shaw Garland,Mark Gear,W.Michael Gemmell,David Gentle,Mary Gerrold,David Gibson,William Goodkin,Terry Green,SharonGreen,Simon Greenberg,Martin H. Haldeman,Jack C. Haldeman Joe Hambly,BarbaraHamilton,Laurell K.Hamilton,Peter F. Hardy,Lyndon Harper,Tara K.Harris,Charlaine Harrison,HarryHarrison,KimHawke,Simon Haydon,Elizabeth Heinlein,Robert A. Hendee,J.C.&Barb. Herbert,Frank Hobb,Robin Hodgell,P.C. Hogan,James P. Howard,Robert E. Hubbard, L.Ron Ing,Dean Jacques,Brian Jones,D.F. Jones,Diana Wynne Jones,J.V. Jordan,Robert Kay, Guy GavrielKearney, PaulKenyon,Sherrilyn Kerr,Katherine Keyes,J.Gregory Knight,Angela Knight,E.F. Koontz,DeanKurtz,Kathrine Kuttner,HenryLackey,Mercedes Laumer,Keith Lawhead,StephenLazarevich,Alexander Lee&Miller Lee,TanithLeGuin,Ursula K.Leiber,FritzLeinster,Murray Lem,Stanislaw L'Engle,Madeline Lindskold,Jane Lisle,Holly Long,DuncanLongyear,BarryLowecraft,H.P.Lumley,Brian Lustbader,Eric Van MacAvoy,R.A. Martin,George R.R. May,Julian McCaffrey,Anne McDevitt,Jack McIntyre,Vonda McKillip,Patricia A. McKinley,Robin Miller,Walter M. Modesitt,L.E. Moon,Elizabeth Moorcock,Michael Murphy,C.E. Neale,DonaldNiles, DouglasNiven,Larry Norman,John Norton,Andre Novak, KatePaolini,Christopher Paterson,DerekPerry,S.D.Pierce, TamoraPike,ChristopherPiper,H.Beam Pohl,Frederik Pollotta,Nick Pournelle,Jerry Powers,Tim Pratchett,Terry Prater,IanPullman, PhilipRawn, MelanieReichert,Mickey ZuckerResnick,Laura Resnick,Mike Rice,AnneRingo,John Robb,J.D. Roberson, JenniferRoberts, John MaddoxRobinson,Kim Stanley Robinson,Spider Rowley,ChristopherRowling,J.K. Russell,Sean Saberhagen,Fred Sage,AngieSaintcrow,Lillith Salvatore,R.A. Saundby,KateSawyer,Robert J. Scarborough,Elizabeth Anne Schmidt,Dennis Schmitz,James Scott,Martin Sellars,M.R.Shatner,Williams Sheffield,Charles Shinn,SharonSilverberg,RobertSimak,Clifford D. Simmons,Dan Simmons,William Mark Smeds,DaveSmith,E.E.Doc. Smith,WilburSnicket,LemonySpencer,Wen Stableford,BrianStackpole,Michael Stasheff,Christopher Steakley,John Stephenson,Neal Sterling,Bruce Stirling,S.M. Stross, CharlesStroud,JonathanSturgeon,Theodore Tepper,Sherri Tilley,Patrick Tolkien,J.R.R. Troop,Alan Turtledove,Harry VanVogot,A.E.Vance,Jack Varley,JohnVerne,Jules Vinge,Joan D. Vinge,Vernor Watt-Evans,Lawrence Weber,DavidWeis,Margaret & Hickman Wells,H.G. Wentworth,K.D. West,Michelle White,Steve Whyte,Jack Wilbur,SmithWilhelm,Kate Wilks,EileenWilliams,Tad Williamson,Michael Z. Wilson,ColinWingrove,David Wolfe,Gene Wrede,Patricia C. Wurts,JannyYarbro,Chelsea Quinn Yolen,JaneZahn,Timothy Zelazny,Roger and no i didn't type out all them i copied and pasted.