During the 1990s, Microsoft was the evil corporation of computing, trying to tie together a litany of shabby software products including Internet Explorer, thus making it impossible for any other companies to move in to the industry. However, in the last 10 years, Apple and Google have made serious strides gaining not just market share, but mind share as well. Apple with computing and hardware, Google with software programs. And in the last 10 years, these companies have taken on the image of fighting the big guy, David v. Goliath, Rudy just trying to make a tackle (more Google, Apple really already had this brand image). But with the release of Google Buzz, some people (I’m not really sure how many) are starting to this that Google is the big bad wolf that needs to be escaped from. But in reality, is it true?
I recently found on Gizmodo a step-by-step manual on how to take your life out of the hands of Google. Let me tell you, after reading through it, it would not be easy for me to rid myself of all of my Google ties. Not only do I use Gmail, but I use Wave, Google search, Chrome, Docs, Chat, and on occasion, Google Reader. That list is not exclusive, I will still actively search out any new product that Google releases. But the real question is, do I want to take away all of my services from Google? One of the biggest issues that consumers are dealing with right now is the privacy issue.
Google specializes in targeting advertising. By tracking your searches, just like Facebook tracks your posted information, Google can better feed you ads that relate closer to you.
The ad in the picture above is for ESPN, which not only do I have bookmarked, but I also sports in many of my e-mails. While this would bother a lot of people, thinking that it hits a little too close to home, I am not one of those people. I know the risks of having information online, and I’m of a firm belief that if I don’t want someone to know something about me, I will not post it or discuss it online.
The most backlash with Google Buzz is coming from the automatic tracking that Google added so you have a group of friends to start with, instead of having to search them all down. However, they created this list from people you contact with frequently in your contacts, which is a list that could include bosses, lawyers, ex-significant others and many other that you do not want being able to see any of your updates.
But Google Buzz cannot be the only cause of the public backlash against Google, can it? Google gave us Gmail, which allowed us to escape from the amateurish e-mail clients of Hotmail, Yahoo, and AOL. Google gave us Docs, the first well publicized, well constructed online document creation program. But most of all, they gave us Google searches. Think back to the days before Google search. What was available? Ask Jeeves? Yahoo? Google redefined the search industry and have became the market leader because it is well deserved.
These search engines might be a thing of the past, however, Microsoft has thrown their gauntlets into the search engine industry with the ambitious release of Bing. Bing is not just another search engine, it is a redefinition on the common search, and gives the user a very different experience than does Google.
While Google will give you all web-pages, images, news articles and other such information having to do with any specific search, Bing goes a different route. They will still provide you with the same information, however, they will summarize basic information and display it for the user on the front page. Sort of like a Wiki Junior.
So while there are modern options from switching from Google platforms, the question is still there. Why do it? I believe that it all comes down to how much information are you willing to let one company not only know about you, but control. I know that by using as many Google products as I do, they could paint a very realistic picture of who I am. Every time you sign up for a company’s website you submit information. And with Google products, most of the time it’s not just submitting entry information, but the sending and receiving of messages with their products by E-mails, searches, documents, etc.
Until the release of Google Buzz, Google had a near spotless brand image and no signs of an evil corporation. But by looking in the news lately, that’s have to have changed, right? I mean, start angering your customers and your going to get a lot of negative PR. But what recourse is the right recourse? In the comments section of the article I discussed earlier, on how to delete Google from your life, a few consumers are discussing what they think on the subject.
“Why would I ditch a great service?” Never been more simple to some I guess. Until Google starts to seriously inconvenience my life, I will continue to use Google products. If I start to worry about online privacy more than I currently do, I think Facebook with be my first stop. Google may sell certain information to create targeted ads, but Facebook has more information publicly listed than I will ever disclose on any of my Google accounts. But I still easily found this online, but I just think this is pretty funny. Enjoy.
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