There is no company in the world I simultaneously love and fear more than Google. I love it because, as the adage goes, “it only does everything.” What started out as a search engine now has its own OS, email service, map service, social networking site, and also provides its user the means to view satellite images of practically any place in the world.
Yet this is also precisely what makes it so scary. The sheer amount of information controlled by Google is astounding, in light of the same ironic fact that they “only do everything.” Quite frankly, it tends to make one paranoid. Google’s foray into social networking with Google + is particularly worrisome. Google in effect knows where one lives, can pinpoint the exact location with satellite imagery, and not only that—it also knows all of one’s friends and where they consequently live with pinpoint accuracy. With other social networking sites, at least one crazy enough to reveal his real address can take solace in the fact that the site’s servers doesn’t contain detailed map and location info. Google doesn’t quite feel as secure.
So for now, this blogger will stay off Google +. I can live with the fact that they know info about me from my email and Youtube accounts, but aren’t willing to put my friends at risk. Some may call it paranoia, but I’d rather be safe.
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