Brandt Rant
Work yourself up into a lather this morning by reading a few words from Daniel Brant, that well known friend of Google. Basically beefing about privicy (fair enough) and, a new one to me "class warfare" - power to the people.
Quote:
Call it class warfare, if you like. Because that brings up the other major gripe that Google Watch has with Google. That's the PageRank problem -- the fact that Google's primary ranking algorithm has less to do with the quality of web pages, than it has to do with the "power popularity" of web pages. Their approach to ranking is anti-democratic, in that already-powerful pages are mathematically granted extra power to anoint other pages as powerful.
And he reminds us again of Matt's shady past, but does not mention the bacon polenta
Quote:
5. Google hires spooks:
Matt Cutts, a key Google engineer, used to work for the National Security Agency. Google wants to hire more people with security clearances, so that they can peddle their corporate assets to the spooks in Washington.
- Y! MyWeb
perhaps.....
Everyman is wrong and actually Matt still works for the NSA and is undercover at Google to investigate Larry and Sergey one of whom must surely be a Russian Spy (probably Larry) and the other probably wears anarchic underwear and then Marissa is the beautiful foreign agent sent to infiltrate the enemy camp by the evil nemesis (you choose which one but imagine them with a fluffy white cat) and the world can now only be saved by *ta-dah* BrandtMan (cue dramatic entry stage left by superhero in underpants over tights and a shiny silver hat type thing) who will come down to earth in the space elevator and save as all.
I think I need to buy some decaff...
What a crock...
In the golden age of email, in the pre-Outlook virus farm years, I used to deal with NSA, spooks, congress, foreign governments, exxon and even DISNEY on a regular basis not to mention going head to head with Microsoft over their lies about the unstable nature of LanMan that a mouse fart could disable.
Don't even get me started.
Just another paranoid ranting loon.
Send in the white jackets.
NSA
Hmmm, what organization has the longest and strongest history of information retrieval technologies? Like, uhh, where would I go try to raid the ranks if I was going to start and build a commercial search engine company? Methinks the DoD asset with the highest electricity bill...NSA.
And if I was a GS13 or 14 at Fort Meade looking for a cool new job where I could really cash in on the world's need for IR to distribute commerce...not to mention my very own lava lamp and a foosball table in the crapper...where would I go? Silicon Valley.
If either party wanted to rule the world...and take a huge paycut...they could have done it at Langley, Bolling, or Ft. Meade.
But if you really want to buy into the spy vs spy, black helicopter nature of it all, Microsoft has a much deeper talent pool drawn from the Intelligence Community and even an Israeli armor officer or two in the mix.
Oooh, Windows Vista engineers might team up with Google Base engineers and Echelon admins so I can't say, "Jenna Bush is purty" on my PC without simultaneously being arrested, served contextually relevant ads about defense lawyers, and my Blackberry dumping its cache to Laura Bush's personal cell phone. Just because, you know, it could happen.
I gotta get to sleep. I've had my fill of conspiratorial stupidity for the day.
I won't even mention...
My skills at data encryption and data retrieval from track edge saturation bleed on disk and tape recording media. I'd hate for my past to haunt me as I've not done that sort of raw media data retreival in years.
What's that WOOP! WOOP! WOOP! noise over my house?
Damn black hellicopters...
Privacy I think is a real
Privacy I think is a real issue across the ISP's, so it's sad to see the message become obfuscated in a complete lack of focus. So long as that approach continues, it makes privacy concerns a fringe conspiracist issue, which it shouldn't be.
Segway scooters!
I hadn't thought of it until I looked closely at the diagram. Segway Scooters are part of an evil plot towards global domination!
Google's already exposed its evil master plan
See here for the shocking truth!
Brian
I agree with you.
Privacy is the real issue here...
I remember just a few years ago when it used to be 'fashonible' to call anyone that claimed that the US government would ever abuse its power, a 'tin foil hat wearing wacko'...
And of course, google and the other search engines are soooo honest and such good guys that they would never abuse all that information about you that they have been gathering for years, even for money...
I'm actually a bit concerned about privacy, too...
But -- perhaps in a bit of ironic agreement/overlap with lots0 -- I'm worried about inappropriate government intrusion into private affairs... e.g., the feds subpoena'ing data from Google, Yahoo, or MSN searches or e-mail of a "dangerous activist" (e.g., a non-threatening peace or environmental activist), and then leaking that person's private data to the press for a smearing campaign, etc.
The difference is the placement of fear, from what I gather. I fear the misguided reach of our federal government (at least as its made up at present), and lots0 and others seem to more fear or dislike the search engines (or perhaps particularly Google) in this context.
..
The issue is about "privacy".
I don't like ANYONE spying on me, no matter if it is the government or some for profit ?corporation.
And to be honest, I trust the US Government over any ?for profit corporation, with any of my personal data.
>>I trust the US Government
>I trust the US Government over any for profit corporation
i'm a bit confused, i thought the US government was a for profit corporation.
Google schilling pays well
Google schilling pays well too.