Nowhere in this story is the number "billions" used.
Second, google's strategy is not to invest billions, but seek subsidies or exceptions to municipal access fees by specifically targeting communities that decide to change rules that have existed for decades.
Finally, never forget that the new competitor's main monetization tactic is harvesting your usage data & selling your data.
I am all for increased competition, but fuck Google. They are the devil.
For what it's worth, it's not hyperbole. I truly find their sanctimony around "privacy" and encrypting everything as a serendipitous complement to a business plan that is abhorrent. >> Be civil. Don't say things you wouldn't say in a face-to-face conversation. Avoid gratuitous negativity.
I'd say all of the things I've said face to face. It isn't gratuitous. Maybe not everyone agrees with my position, but I value companies where there isn't a need to distinguish between users and customers.
I could have avoided a profanity. I could have kid gloved it by saying people are entering into a faustian deal. I'm not perturbed that I didn't.
"If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place."
We use the information we collect from all of our services to provide, maintain, protect and improve them, to develop new ones, and to protect Google and our users. We also use this information to offer you tailored content – like giving you more relevant search results and ads."
The ads that they present to you are based on the data they collect about your behavior. They generate revenue on those ads.
This is a Pedantic distinction that exists only if you think an ad revenue model is compatible with your values.
It is like google employees who still argue that their harvesting of wifi mac addresses (w/o permission) was ok because they were just out there for anybody to collect.
There will be people who agree with you, but there are people like me who find this position abhorrent and exploitative. You are in the same community of businesses as payday loans.
> The ads that they present to you are based on the data they collect about your behavior. They generate revenue on those ads.
Thing that has nothing to do with your claim
> This is a Pedantic distinction that exists only if you think an ad revenue model is compatible with your values.
No, the distinction is crucial. Is totally different selling data than selling ad space
> It is like google employees who still argue that their harvesting of wifi mac addresses (w/o permission) was ok because they were just out there for anybody to collect.
Google employees didn't argued that because the harvesting of MAC addresses has been done by every company that does geolocation with wifi and has nothing to do with the real problem with Google Street View data collection
> There will be people who agree with you, but there are people like me who find this position abhorrent and exploitative. You are in the same community of businesses as payday loans.
What I think about ads as a business has nothing to do with your wrong claim about Google selling the data so you can stop trying to look in a higher moral ground.
