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.