Comments on: Our private parts… are they?

By: Spud

Spud — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 01:42:11 +0000

I hope you’re right. It still doesn’t abolish all the other horrible stuff that goes down.

By: Rob Carr

Rob Carr — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 01:37:00 +0000

That information is available to you personally via cookies (that drop box when you start typing things) and overall stats of what people search for (irrespective of having a google account of not) are sent to google so they can create statistics on it. You can look at the search statistics here: http://www.google.com/trends

I am not aware of whether it also records to your google account but I haven’t come across that feature so I would be surprised if it did. If it does google has a very strong privacy policy and does not record personal details about you when collecting corporate information. If you are personally identifiable it is only within your own account.

By: Spud

Spud — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 01:23:50 +0000

I meant, google account.

By: Spud

Spud — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 01:22:45 +0000

Some dude wrote that if you have a google track, they keep track of your searches. It’s creepy and not very nice

By: Rob Carr

Rob Carr — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:26:19 +0000

Spud you aren’t being identified from that information they scan to target those adds though. No person knows anything about you only a machine working exactly the same as search suggestions or statistical data that you are not identifiable from. In terms of spam mail while you are personally identifiable that is usually only information you have voluntarily given somewhere else that has been sold or information from something like the white pages.

By: Spud

Spud — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:44:06 +0000

“I think the privacy act in NZ is far to strong for a mature society.” I think when society is actually mature, people will have learned, the hard way, to respect each other.

By: Spud

Spud — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:39:31 +0000

Well I think it’s disgraceful, at least when Joe researcher went a ringing, people knew what information they were voluntarily imparting to these people.

No, there needs to be a place for ethics in the cyber world. I mean, I don’t want my private conversations scanned for anything. No doubt this thread will still be going later, will come back then.

By: Cal

Cal — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 09:46:27 +0000

Spud, it’s how they make money. Before, if companies wanted market research they’d pay a few people to be interviewed about their likes/dislikes e.t.c, now all they need to do is ask facebook and they can buy that information from millions of people. When you make a facebook profile you’re essentially creating a profile for the use of marketers.

What Gmail specifically does if you have an account with them is that it scans your emails for keywords, so say your email was about going on holiday, it would place ads about a travel company on your page.

That being said, I have both Gmail and Facebook. I don’t really mind that they are using my information to sell me stuff, and I’m smart enough to know never to put cellphone numbers or anything ultra personal on profiles. I mean nothing’s free, right?

By: Andrew Straw

Andrew Straw — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 08:09:41 +0000

I get loads of spam. Couldn’t care less because my filter is good. Once in a while I will skim through to see if anything important got filtered.

By: Spud

Spud — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 07:35:56 +0000

For me it’s not so much the spam as the info they steal off you to make the ads with.