What is Digg?30 Comments
- ThisIsBob, on 10/12/2007, -0/+15So if I use gmail, my friends are going to get ads for big *****?
- drjekelmrhyde, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Who didnt know this ??????????????????????
- OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8None of these free email hosts, nor even your ISP guarantee privacy. If you want privacy, use encryption.
- DreKor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6you don't have to worry until ads for livestock start showing up
- indoracer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I highly doubt Google is collaborating with Yahoo (using their databases) to profile people. I don't think the "evidence" in this article is solid enough.
- PacoDG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I am not sure, but I have no doubts this 'gevil' .com is completely unbiased.
- UglieJosh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Perhaps the "G" in KGB stands for Google :0
- benbread, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Oh i hate to say this..
But i guess it's not just Soviet Russia... - thiru, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I do the following the prevent this as much as possible.
1. Disable personalization settings in google account
2. Use Firefox Google Customization plug-in to not to show ads or send my personal tracking info
3. Use NoScript firefox plugin to not to allow any google sites. (google-anlytics, google-syndication, etc.,)
3. No google toolbar.
But still I can't guarantee that the above will prevent them from tracking me... Google is smart and they are threat to our privacy but with all the good web apps. - rockyvirk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4And how exactly this qualifies as news?
- DoctaStooge, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3If you want privacy, don't use the internet. The truest form of privacy with any technology is not to use the technology.
- bossmanthe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Nothing is for FREE
- EvilPenguin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Indeed, one anecdote isn't proof, and I would like to know the address to try emailing another of my accounts, as it is possible the URL flagged up conspiracy sites for some reason, like other content on the same domain.
- Skitzzo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1you're probably joking but think of the implications of this...
- Skitzzo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1somehow I doubt the copyright laws, attorneys and judges would agree with you. That's like saying "don't worry if your bank publishes your information and account numbers online, there's not such thing as stealing on the internet".
- jstohler, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Seriously.
- seobuilder, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@eviljim
I think the logic is pretty simple. When you open your Gmail and check your email, Google will scan through the content (doesn't matter where it is sent from). Hence, Google picked up some keywords in the content of your email and serve you the relevant ads. - thatsiebguy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Just like how your TV viewing habits are recorded by your digital cable.. yawn, I got better things to do than freak out over targeted ads.. I say let people waste their money on targeting ads based on what I talk about, already happens on my blog.
There is no real "privacy" online so stop trying to make it sound like its being taken away from you. - eviljim, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This is bs. What he is suggesting is that yahoo is trasmitting this guy's search info to google so they can target ads to his email recipients.
That's just stupid. Here is why:
1) Yahoo isn't going to help google.
2) Google is smart. Specifically, smart enough to know something extremely obvious, such as an email sender and recipient have completely different tastes. As such, just because Bob likes consipiricy sites does not mean Jane will. It's a terrible ad targeting mechinism and not worth the effort
3) Google, believe it or not, does believe in "do no evil." Betraying a user's history to another person is a bit shady and not something they would do. Even if it made sense, which it doesn't (see #2).
4) Google's trying to provide gmail as a platform to companies and business. There is no way in hell they'd do this kind of information passing if they want to provide this to businesses.
If you wanted your 15 minutes gevil, you should have at least made it plausable - make it gmail to gmail. Though I'd be fairly sure that's not true either (see #2), still. It's at least possible. You could have also faked out some screenshots.
The guy who wrote this is from some reflexology place. I guess he applies the same science to his accusations as he does to his work (that being, none). Ha! - Skitzzo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1it's not that they are working with each other, it's that they are both doing it.
- Tippis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Agreed. Biggest "duh!" of the week O_o
Lessehere... two companies who make a living off of indexing, sorting and making available as much data as possible. I wonder what they'll do if you willingly hand them all your data... - toecutter169, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The question is, who actually clicks on the ads that show up in Gmail? I've been using it for about 3 years now and I can count maybe 5 times that I've clicked on one of the ads. For something like the Quote of the Day (at the top of the Inbox), I click on those from time to time but it has to really grab my attention.
- Skitzzo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1and that is exactly why this is news. All the people who said "Duh" and probably burried it as lame didn't understand the article or simply didn't read it.
- Skitzzo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1the news is that they aren't just targeting the content of your email they are targeting your browsing habits
- brnews, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1That's right. We all know that every big company is evil and it's your choice to use their services or not. For those who chosen the path of darkness, those addons are a must have.
Here are the links for the lazy:
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/722/
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/743/ - Skitzzo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1that's far from the point. the point is they are disclosing private data about your browsing habits
- thenagman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Someone needs to stop drinking the bong water.
- inurb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I always thought the ads on the right were related to context of the email. Not the content of what the sender was browsing prior to sending the email.
- indoracer, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2BigD,
Nobody is forcing you to use yahoo or gmail. It is a free service they have to make their money some how. I believe these companies (Google and Yahoo) should clearly state what information they are using and collecting. Consider using a different email host.
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