Is Google Watching You?

“Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you”  Kurt Cobain

Data is the driver to growth and profitability for the online advertising community.  No one knows this better than Google.  Every day, they are gathering more and more data on consumers and many consumers are completely unaware of this fact.  While lots of folks are sitting at home shredding mail, cutting up old credit cards and proclaiming that they will “never shop online”, Google sits by quietly watching every move they make online.

USA Today recently featured an article titled, “Google's G1 phone makes it easy to track surfing habits” written by Leslie Cauley.   The article goes into great detail as to the data that Google has (or will have) on consumers.  One key driver to the acquisition of this data is the G1 Mobile phone.

The G1 makes things much easier for Google to watch your every move.  Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy says, “It’s like a walking surveillance device”.  Cell phone and mobile devices are generally not shared; they are just used by one person.  This means that the data collected from that device is highly personalized to that individual and incredibly accurate.

Think about the power of an advertising company (yes, Google is an advertising company) would have knowing who your friends are on Facebook and MySpace, or tracking the videos you watch on Youtube.  Go beyond that and understand that Google would know where you bank, where you shop and even how you are feeling.  By using Gmail, Google Calendar and Docs applications Google sees your contacts, email, documents, instant messages, phone calls, online browsing habits, calendar, downloads, music selections and even your specific location at any given moment.  The GPS enabled smartphone can send location information back to Google servers tracking every move you make… spooky, huh?

Sure there are other location based services like Loopt and Brightkite but they don’t have the ability to tie that information to every other aspect of your life.

So why does Google care about you and me so much?  Easy… money.  Mobile advertising will quickly become “locally relevant”.  This means that if you are strolling through Bryant Park on a warm summer day in New York, an ad for the Jamba Juice across the street may show up on your phone.  Click it and Google makes money.  Mobile advertising today is only about $800M annually.   By 2012 it will swell to $2.2B driven largely by “locally relevant” advertising and targeting based on your interests, connections and habits.

Today Google falls only under their self-imposed privacy guidelines (This from a company not exactly known for its transparency).  In 1999 legislation was passed that allowed consumers an “opt-in” choice for phone and cable companies controlling the use of personal data for commercial purposes.  Trust me when I tell you this will be a hot topic in the months and years to come on Capital Hill.  Consumer privacy is a big deal and something we should all be concerned about.

So if you have a G1 remember the minute you turn it, Google is watching you.  Tracking every move you make and, unlike other consumer data, you can’t see what information has been collected nor is there a way to modify it.  But don’t worry; we can always trust Google to do the right thing… right?  

For information on how Google and others will be using locally relevant data read this excellent article from by BW's Steve Baker and watch the accompanying video.

Google recently joined me and millions others by setting up a Twitter account.  Their very first tweet said, "I'm 01100110 01100101 01100101 01101100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01101100 01110101 01100011 01101011 01111001 00001010" binary code meaning "feeling lucky".  Well Google, I'm 01110111 01100001 01110100 01100011 01101000 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 :)

Tom  Cuthbert