Google knows all, tells all

[rivkat]

No, this isn't about YouTube. But it is about why it's a good idea to think about Google's powers, even if they're currently used for good. So I am planning to go to Naomi Novik's reading this evening, and to find the bookstore I googled "naomi" -- and as soon as I'd typed that in, Google suggested, in order, Naomi Klein, Naomi Wolf, and Naomi Novik. Which says a lot about how well Google knows me: it gets the trifecta of my interests--intellectual property/marketing; feminism; sff fandom. For more, James Grimmelmann has a new piece (pdf) written for nonlawyers that I thought covered the issues pretty well, though like everyone else he's a bit short on solutions.

Comments

[hulamoth.livejournal.com]

For me the fear isn't as much what I am interested in (which is still a fear) but the implication of what I may be interested in, academically, or for illegal purposes (bootlegs) or why they would be interested (if I looked up how to build a bomb). Your search for a first name is vague enough but when I do the same long, precise character strings on repeat over a series of time, it shows something different. And my youtube account could show that a person has watched entire television or movie productions implicitly instead of paying for the videos.

[justabi.livejournal.com]

This is awesome. Thanks for the link.

cable companies, google and etc

[sapphoq.livejournal.com]

Yup, YouTube can be mined for just that kind of information.
The things you talk about are exactly the reasons why folks get into using proxies and other stuff.
I.P.s can still be traced off of them but someone has to take extra effort to do so and be technically competent.
There are ways to get around these things but they do involve some cost.

spike

[elynross.livejournal.com]

Hmm. That's exactly what I get, when I type in "Naomi," but don't know of Naomi Klein, and Naomi Wolf is fairly low down on my interests. I assumed that what google suggests has more to do with overall google hits on a particular thing? Or maybe google is trying to tell me something...

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

What we need is someone with very different interests to try it out. Surely there's someone out there searching for Naomi Campbell. According to Google Trends, she beats everyone on my list by 5.6 times in terms of search volume, so I would think that a "dumb" Google search would have started with her.

[elynross.livejournal.com]

Yes! I admit, I've never really considered that it was tailored to me, since at "Na" I get the national lottery, national railroad, and NASCAR, and I can't imagine how it thinks any of those are my interests. *g*

[cryptoxin.livejournal.com]

I got Klein, Wolf, & Novik (in that order) as well. At least I can rest assured that Google doesn't know about my passing Mulholland Drive-era crush on Naomi Watts.

Er, didn't know about it....