tedster - 4:22 am on Feb 3, 2013 (gmt 0)

Google has changed so much in the five years since 2008 - check into all the linked information about updates: [webmasterworld.com...]

We're talking about a whole new infrastructure (Caffeine) and a whole new way of ranking websites that has evolved since then, based on machine learning. With what they are doing today, they certainly don't need to violate data privacy of GA users that they have publicly guaranteed - and it would drive them away, any way. They do use GA information in aggregate when users give explicit permission