Forum Moderators: Robert Charlton & goodroi
Today we're helping people get better search results by extending Personalized Search to signed-out users worldwide
That's a staggering statement meaning that every computer accessing Google is now being personalized, signed in or not, so any desktop, laptop or kiosk will start tracking everything everyone does and you won't be able to access the same search results from any two machines.
The possible impact to all is staggering.
I was logged in as I usually am. Was not aware that my wifes machine was logged in an infact if you try to go to my adsense account on that machine it needs you to log in. However on doing a Goog search I see it has my login email at the top.
The link I followed to the history was at the bottom of the serps, under the page numbers, where it says:
Personalized based on your web history. More details
I guess I was just wondering if the search history is being merged together because you have been logged in on both PCs when searching.
Or, better say, I am wondering if you log on to G., then log out, does G. still keep adding searches to your user ID since you still have the same cookie so G. knows who you are even though you logged out?
Or they did it by having the same IP for both PCs.
Maybe this is a bit far fetched, but right now I am inclined to believe that G. is invading more privacy then they choose to tell you.
El Reg finally picked this up here ..and As predicted ..the vast majority of the comments on their article show that1) the average person understands zero about IT
2) the average person understands zero about SEO
3) the average person hates SEO ( and thinks they know what it does ..how it works ..and why it is done ..they don't )
Leosghost - El Reg readers are not average persons. Most of the feedback contributors there are IT permies with a huge chip on their shoulder. They despise people who work for themselves whilst they are stuck in their 9-5 IT job hell.
You are right though about the average person not understanding IT, SEs, browsers. These are home users though and not techies of any description.
Isn't this a bit too Big Brotherish? 1984 never happened,
Is surveillance becoming the norm in most urban areas and almost all commercial establishments?
Yes
Does the government know more about us than we want?
Yes
Is there a "Great Leader" who can talk to us via a screen on the wall?
Yes
Does much of the populace go off to work in cubicle farms?
Yes
Are people being imprisoned without due process?
Yes
Orwell was a prophet -- if it's not yet his exact vision (thankfully), it's pretty dang close -- too close. All I was hoping is that Google would be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
............................
Just to check, I logged out of goog on the second machine and then did a search. That search did not show up on my history.
However it is interesting to note that it is several weeks since I logged into the second machine, since when it has been shut down every night and I was not aware it was logged in.
So if you want to check up on what someone else is doing, leave their machine logged into your account
Has there been endless war?
No, the wall came down, the missiles are being dismantled, smaller conflicts, but you’ll always get them.
Is surveillance becoming the norm in most urban areas and almost all commercial establishments?
Only the guilty have anything to worry by this.
Does the government know more about us than we want?
I’m firmly in the cock-up theory of government camp.
Is there a "Great Leader" who can talk to us via a screen on the wall?
No, just turn it off and you can have a more interesting life.
Does much of the populace go off to work in cubicle farms?
Not if they have an enterprising and risk-taking spirit, they don’t.
Are people being imprisoned without due process?
Most of us are worried about those who have undergone due process, been found guilty, are a risk but are let free to do it again.
Orwell was an interesting read, not a prophet. Dystopias, utopias, reality is somewhere in between.
Happy Xmas!
Or, better say, I am wondering if you log on to G., then log out, does G. still keep adding searches to your user ID since you still have the same cookie so G. knows who you are even though you logged out?
@Frank_Rizzo ( and they are all reading el reg and posting on their bosses time :) ..I take your point though ..I suspect with non IT people ( there msut be some who read the vulture ..just as there are some here with no websites ) the reaction would be the same
@willybfriendly
GoogleGuy (remember him?) once told us that a copy of Cluetrain was pinned on the wall in the plex. The janitor must have got it.
Only the guilty have anything to worry by this.
[edited by: Leosghost at 3:27 pm (utc) on Dec. 7, 2009]
The first question that pops to mind; how much information about a site's visit actually gets logged. They say it just manipulates personal SERPS, maybe right now thats true - However if they're tracking who goes where, and how often, I'd be amazed if that information doesn't get utilised at some point.
Using their recipe search analogy, if more people keep going back to allrecipes.com than foodnetwork.com, will that constitute as 'votes' for the former? (Hell, If I'm thinking this off the top of my head, you can guarentee some botnet hearders are putting their sales pitches together regardless of if it's true or not.)
Does the length of time on a site become a factor, and if so will part of SEO become 'trapping' visitors on the site, maybe by splitting content from one page into three and forcing the user to click around. Anything to keep the bounce rate down.
I can't see how the stuff announced is going to change anything except create the odd confusing phonecall to clients. It's what else they can do with the data that could be a game changer.
:)
Welcome to Webmaster World.
Isn't this a bit too Big Brotherish? 1984 never happened, so why should this?
I think 1984 looks lame to where we are today, and ultra-lame compared to what The Gorg has in store for mankind.
* Chrome OS and Android for ultimate tracking experience (cough). Google and your government now know where you are, and what you search for.
* Google Search as the basic, but still powerful, ingredient to the very tight mesh of tracking services.
* Google Adsense, Doubleclick, Youtube, Maps, GMail, Docs, News, Analytics, Blogger, Google DNS, and their respective implementations in 3rd party websites across the Internet, tighten the net laid out in Google Search. Apparently, the ultimate goal is to track all your moves on the web by at least any one of these services (better multiple services at the same time for better profiling). These free services are the dope for the people, keeping them docile and muted.
As I laid out before, I knew that something was wrong when I wondered whether I should post a Google critical post. At that time I still had Adsense on my sites, so it was essential for me that Google liked me. I self-censored my critical post for FEAR of seeing a "you have been banned" message in my inbox at some point in time.
Since Google now starts to hand out "life-time" sentences for their customers, without trial, they start to act a bit weird, don't you think? Who do they think they are? To me, that's worse than most governments (who typically limit sentences to months and years, and you get some kind of trial). Looking into the future, I think that a "life-time" ban from Google is probably not something anyone here wants to face at any point in time.
And now just a little mind game. Just think of this. How much would Google be willing to pay to know who hides behind the nicks of a webmaster forum that is hosting Google-critical discussions? And at what price would the forum owner actually sell? 10 million? 100 million? A billion? Two billion?
That's all pocket change to Google. They don't even feel that price tag. And now think of the consequences! WHAT IF your critical profile data would be handed over to the Gorg? Some programming intern works out an algo sifting through the log files from the past years and links that and the user profiles to the SERPs. Or rather: unlinks your sites from the SERPs. And -poof!- your sites disappear from the SERPs shortly after, based on that "we don't like you" algo?
Yes, that's where we are today. Please the Gorg, or else...!
[edited by: zett at 3:42 pm (utc) on Dec. 7, 2009]
