At first, I thought this was very interesting: Google.org has collected and analyzed flu search data that seems to identify trends faster than the experts, based primarily on how people are utilizing their search engine. Great! I thought, someone has finally been able to monitor how real people are being affected by life's various maladies.The more I thought about it, though, the more it reminded me of that TV commercial with the baby who buys stocks. You know ... the one where he used his profits to hire a clown. "But I underestimated the creepiness factor," he says ... or words to that effect.
It's perfectly logical that a large search engine like Google can check this type of stuff. But it's still strange to think that our basic privacy might be rendered "marketable."
What's next? Can data on search tendencies be amassed and sold? Probably. I don't know that such things aren't already happening. So let's say the search keywords of the millions of people who live in New Jersey are collected. And maybe it turns out that various terms of a sexual nature are up toward the top, perhaps the usual celebrity names, numerous political issues, etc. What does that say about New Jersey? In my opinion, not much of anything unless it has context. But the more these things are examined, the more our privacy gets shaved. Slippery slope. Creepy.
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