Gmail? Not if you like your privacy.
by Thea - June 5th, 2007 12:34 pm
It wasn’t until I received my Google Adwords Certification last week that I learned the ugly truth: Google reads your email to determine the Adwords ads to target within your Gmail account.
This is an excerpt from Lesson 1c: Ad Distribution in the Google Adwords Learning Center; and I quote…
The AdWords system analyzes the content of emails viewed within the Gmail interface, and matches ads to this content. Emails about upcoming vacations may, for example, display advertisements for local attractions, lodging, or businesses.
I wont go into the specifics, but obviously, there are some major privacy issues here. I know that technically it’s the software that reads the emails; but technically, this software can store and regurgitate your information on-demand if the government or anyone so desired.
The fact that Google is a store house of private user information is the basis for a huge SEO debate that has gone on for quite some time now. This is the debate over whether to use Google Analytics. It’s nifty, it’s free, and it can be used by Google to procure more sales in your industry by disclosing your stats and keywords for others to target and outbid . Some consider it a necessary evil; the cost of doing (free) business and essentially getting what you pay for. Others just boycott the package altogether ‘Enemy of the State’ style.
Yes Google rocks! But at what cost?
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