Posts tagged Affect
Tech World Overreacts to Google’s New Privacy Policy – How Does It Affect You?
Jan 26th
Google updated its privacy policy on Tuesday. It replaced more than 60 separate policies with a single one that treats Google users and their data as the same across all Google services. Reactions were shrill. “The End of ‘Don’t Be Evil’” was trotted out for the umpteenth time. The Washington Post quoted privacy experts saying, “There is no way anyone expected this.” My, that sounds terrible!
But it’s not true. Everyone watching should have seen this change coming. Google executives have maintained for so long that their new direction is one unified Google product. The new policy doesn’t track any new data. It doesn’t change the user’s settings. Users can still export all their data and leave Google forever. All this does is change perception.
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It’s Nothing New
Before, every Google service was a different website. After March 1, they’ll all be treated as one. The old arrangement meant that each service had its own privacy policy. That doesn’t mean it was more private. Google still tracked users. It still shared data from some of its services with others.
On March 1, the rules become much simpler: Google is all one thing. If you use it, it tracks your usage, it stores your data, and it uses your activity to personalize its services for you. Every single way in which it will do so is clearly laid out.
Today, members of Congress sent a letter to Google CEO Larry Page about the policy. They said it raises questions about whether consumers can opt-out of the new data sharing system either globally or on a product-by-product basis.” That is crazy talk. You opt out “globally” by not using Google. That’s how privacy policies work. It’s true that you can’t opt out of the privacy policies for individual services anymore. You know what you can do? Stop sharing things you don’t want tracked.
Reflexively Reacting
To make sure I wasn’t crazy for thinking this way, I spoke to Colin Zick, a partner at Boston law firm Foley Hoag and contributor to its blog, Security, Privacy And The Law.
“What we have is not a reaction to a change in legal language. It’s a change in perception.” – Colin Zick
In his post about Google’s new policy, he noted that “[t]hese changes are likely to draw FTC scrutiny, especially in light of the recent decision by Google to incorporate data from its social network, Google+, into search results, which has already resulted in a FTC antitrust investigation.” I asked Zick if these concerns are warranted.
“From a legal perspective, I’m not seeing anything that’s much different in what’s being proposed to take effect on March 1 and what’s in place right now,” Zick says. “In particular, the language about sharing across services has been in [Google's policies] for a long time.”
Zick points out that all the past versions of Google’s privacy policies are on the website, and the last two versions offer line-by-line comparisons to the previous version. Zick expects that Google will do the same with the new policy once it’s officially issued.
“What we have is not a reaction to a change in legal language,” Zick says, “but it’s a change in perception. … People are just reflexively reacting to the idea that Google is big.”
Google Is Not Off The Hook Here
There are perfectly good things not to like about Google’s new direction. For example, its community management strategy for Google+ is broken. Its names policy is only designed around appearances. As long as your name looks “real” to robots and engineers, you can go nuts. But you still can’t use a handle, nor can you use a pseudonym unless it’s “established,” and you can prove it with some form of identification.
“Pseudonymity makes it possible for the most marginalized people in our community to communicate with us.” – Cory Doctorow
This is a misguided policy. It doesn’t protect politically active, marginalized or victimized users who still want to use Google+ but can’t have it connected to their identities. You can step back even further and argue that it doesn’t reflect the way human identity works at all.
“Identity is prismatic,” as Chris Poole so eloquently told us at Web 2.0 last year. Google (and Facebook) want to lock users into a single identity on the Web as far as their services are concerned. There’s no question that Google’s new direction is to be a bigger part of its users’ lives.
You Don’t Have To Like It
The idea of what Google is has grown. This month, Google unveiled Search plus Your World, its integration of Google+ social results into Web search. Google+ had already been integrated into YouTube, Gmail and so many other Google services. But search was the Google we used to know. The change upset people, myself included.
Google has been accused of breaking a promise about how it should work. Its founders used to pride themselves on the fact that Google search didn’t favor its own services. Google has been scrutinized for years for backpedalling on that stance, but Search+ has been treated as a last straw. For people who don’t use Google+, Search plus Your World doesn’t work.
google social search – I hate this: mlkshk.com/p/BZOU
— David Jacobs (@djacobs) January 26, 2012
But this is the new Google. You don’t have to like it. If you don’t like Search plus Your World, you can opt right out. You can opt out of sharing browser history by using incognito mode. You can also opt out of targeted ads. You can’t opt out of Google’s new privacy policy, because that’s how Google’s business is going to work from here on out. The data you create anywhere on Google are available to the rest of Google. Google is one big service for better or for worse. You don’t have to use it.
No One Is Making You Use Google
The new privacy policy changes the way it feels to use Google, but it doesn’t change the way it works. What are people afraid of Google tracking? Their name and address? Their location? The contents of their email? Their Web browsing habits? Google already tracked these things. So does Facebook. So does everybody. These are things you choose to share with Google. Who said you had to use Google? It’s not the power grid. It’s not the sewer system.
You have a choice. You can choose between Google’s new direction, an all-in-one, twice-a-day everything-service its executives want you to use like a toothbrush, or Google’s competitors. There are plucky start-up search engines out there that might remind you of classic Google. Microsoft also has a social search engine, a free email service and a suite of cloud-based office software. Oh, you don’t like them as much? Boo hoo!
Google is making its move. It’s changing its nature. Some changes are bad, and other changes are good. Users who like the changes will be happy, users who hate them will be sad. Google offers more tools than anybody else to give its users control over their data. As it says in the overview of its new privacy policy, users who don’t like the new direction are welcome to export their data and take it elsewhere.
What do you think? Has Google gone too far? Will you take your Web activities elsewhere? Share that with us in the comments.
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How Will Google Mobile Search Affect SEO in 2012? – HTML Goodies
Dec 28th
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How Will Google Mobile Search Affect SEO in 2012?
HTML Goodies A different crawler for smartphones is a good indication that different SEO practices may be effectively used for smartphone websites and apps. The rational on mobile search has always been that Google treats mobile devices and tablets the same way it … |
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Link-Assistant.Com: Yahoo! Site Explorer Shutdown Won’t Affect SEO SpyGlass – SBWire (press release)
Nov 28th
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Link-Assistant.Com: Yahoo! Site Explorer Shutdown Won't Affect SEO SpyGlass
SBWire (press release) Com, the leading SEO software provider, has made an official statement that Yahoo! Site Explorer closure won't diminish the value SEO SpyGlass brings to its users. According to Viktar Khamianok, CEO at Link-Assistant.Com, “SEO SpyGlass, the backlink … |
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How Will Urban Airship & SimpleGeo Affect Mobile Backend Services?
Nov 1st
Urban Airship made big news in the startup community yesterday with its acquisition of backend location services provider SimpleGeo. Last December we called SimpleGeo the most promising company of 2011 because of the way it provides location data for applications and the approach the company uses to tackle the problem. Urban Airship agrees that SimpleGeo has great potential, hence the acquisition.What does this mean for the backend-as-a-service mobile cloud realm?
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Urban Airship does not see itself competing against the likes of StackMob, Kinvey or Parse, but it definitely works within that space. One exec called it a “really clever move.” Another thought that this is a sign of consolidation within the backend mobile services realm. Either way, it is a big move for both Urban Airship and SimpleGeo.
SimpleGeo + Urban Airship t-shirts have already been made
Urban Airship was one of the first companies to tie push notifications, rich push (with multimedia elements), in-app purchases and subscriptions together into third-party service applications for developers.
SimpleGeo provides similar backend support, but from a location perspective with a location library and the ability to send push notifications based on where as user is. In terms of how the two companies will mesh together, they both tie to the cloud via Amazon Web Services, are built on top of Cassandra and use programming languages like Java and Python.
The acquisition of SimpleGeo by Urban Airship is a natural step for the two companies after they formed a partnership earlier this year. The way Scott Kveton, CEO of Urban Airship, sees it, his company has a significant opportunity to create a dynamic mobile services ecosystem through these types of partnerships. Urban Airship has already partnered with Nitobi for PhoneGap integration and Appcelerator. Urban Airship has more partnerships on the horizon, some to be announced next week. Urban Airship and Kinvey have also done some research together on how political campaigns do not use use push notifications in an unpublished article called “Political mobile apps have a payphone strategy in a smartphone world.”
Source: Kinvey
Consolidation of the Backend Space
One of the founders of a backend mobile service I spoke with agreed there will be some type of consolidation within the vertical. That could come in several forms. A company like Apple, Google or Microsoft could acquire a company like StackMob, Kinvey or Parse. For instance, Microsoft wants to tie its application development to its cloud service Azure, but could do well by cutting across platforms by acquiring one of the startups working in the space. Or, more companies like Urban Airship buying companies like SimpleGeo.
In the long run, some type of consolidation of the backend services vertical may be necessary. In the short term, probably not. StackMob, Kinvey and Parse are all still in beta periods and have significant room to grow. The explosion of mobile devices and the application ecosystems that support them will provide plenty of opportunity as developers look for ways to provide cloud functionality to apps without building it out themselves. Kinvey published an infographic through GigaOm that shows that most native applications are not yet tied to mobile backend service.
Developers: What do you think of the Urban Airship+SimpleGeo pairing? Also, what types of services are you looking for from the backend-as-a-service mobile platforms? Let us know in the comments.
View full post on ReadWriteWeb
Will encrypted search on Google affect SEO industry? – Microfinance Monitor
Oct 24th
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Will encrypted search on Google affect SEO industry?
Microfinance Monitor The SEO industry might find it difficult as Google announced that searches will now be encrypted for logged in Google users. While there is disconcerting chatter and SEO's all over are throwing accusations for 'hypocrisy' and greed, it should come as … Google Encrypted Search and the Effects on SEO – Titan SEO Google, Here Is A Solution For Passing Query Data Securely How Much Data Will Your Site Lose With Google Encrypted Search Default? |
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5 SEO Issues That Can Affect A Link Campaign – Search Engine Land
Oct 18th
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5 SEO Issues That Can Affect A Link Campaign
Search Engine Land One thing she said really hit home, and that was not to turn the session into an SEO clinic. I would have done just that actually. To me, SEO and link building are inextricably linked. However, Rae's advice was dead on because she pointed out that we … |
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5 SEO Issues That Can Affect A Link Campaign
Oct 18th
I recently did the SMX East 2011 Link Clinic with Rae Hoffman-Dolan and beforehand, this being my first time speaking at an event, I wanted some advice. One thing she said really hit home, and that was not to turn the session into an SEO clinic. I would have done just that actually.
To me, SEO and…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
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Facebook f8 Q&A: How Will Timeline Affect Your Business?
Sep 24th
There was a lot of heavy material to come out of Facebook’s developer conference yesterday. From the Timeline, to the similarities of the announcement to Facebook Beacon, to media sharing, to the possibility of a Facebook app store. But, we wanted to know how the people on the conference floor were reacting and how f8 attendees thought Timeline might affect their business. So, we started grabbing random people in the crowd to put them to the question: “How will timeline affect your business?”
The answers were varied. Most in the ecosystem thought that what Facebook is doing will be good for them and their bottom lines. We did run into two Yahoo executives who we talked to but they declined the answer the question on the record. Below are five answers to the question. Let us know how you think that Timeline will affect your business in the comments.
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Scott Kleper – Co-founder Context Optional
They allow marketers to tell stories to their users over time. Instead of just actions that they take at one point in time, they sort of have this ongoing presence in their Facebook profile.
Harald Rudell – Founder Al Good Apps
I work in social games, so I think this is a new opportunity for sharing and it will turn virality to social games updside-down again. The incumbents have been safe for a little bit and this opens virality again. I came here with the hopes of hearing the mobile side of things as well.
Kevin Tunl – Project Manager Tigerlily
I guess there are a lot of things to think about. Some other things to do with pages online. Our application can be integrated with Timeline and show more because it is becoming more and more prolific and there are a lot of things to do and think about. Our app will be integrated to match this way of consuming applications.
Jay Sider – CEO GroupMusic.com
It is great. We have the largest music app on Facebook so bringing more awareness to the platform is incredible. So, fans, when they think about music and think about an artist Facebook can now provide more of an opportunity to you. We are announcing today that we are going to do a big integration with Spotify that is going to be rolling out over the next few days. It is a great thing that is happening here today.
Christel van der Boom – Flipboard
Because people will be able to share the media that they consume, I think it will help to uncover great content on Flipboard. We are built on the premise that social is coming up with a great way to get content anyway so now you can share everything you are thinking of. So, we think it is great.
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How Will Affiliate Taxes Affect Cloud Computing? [Infographic]
Sep 15th
States are going after Amazon for sales taxes, hot and heavy. According an infographic from TurboTax, affiliate taxes have been enacted in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Illinois, North Carolina, New York and Rhode Island. Another 14 states have introduced, but not passed, affiliate taxes.
Most of this is aimed at online retailers, but what about companies like Rackspace that have affiliate programs and reseller programs for cloud services?
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Generally, the concerns I’ve heard about cloud computing outside of technical issues revolve around legal issues relating to privacy, data protection and security. But what about the tax issues?
According to an article in Bloomberg from this August, it’s confusing at best. Tax authorities used to be able to tax off-the-shelf software sales – now they’re dealing with services being hosted in one state (or country) being sold to users in another state. For companies that have affiliates (like Rackspace) the crop of affiliate tax laws may answer the question – or lead those companies to cancel their affiliate programs as Amazon has been doing.
As various forms of cloud computing generate more and more revenue, states are going to be trying to ensure they’re getting their fair share of the revenue. I’d love to hear from providers and users of cloud computing services how they’re dealing with taxes now, and how they’re prepping for the future.
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4 Ways PPC Goals Can Affect A Call Tracking Strategy
Sep 1st
Do eager prospects ever visit your website then call your sales team to learn more? If your answer is yes, at some point, you may have wondered how to measure a phone call as a conversion. While Web analytics tools track online conversions, you may also need a call tracking tool to measure phone…
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