To do this, let me remind you that Google is a company that needs to make money like so many other companies. So a natural question is: Where does the money come from?
Obviously from other companies[2](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFzoM59bIQ8&feature=related,3) , by selling personal and targeted advertisement to users. So essentially a company buys exposure to its target audience.
Now this means, that companies are Google’s clients and we, the users are their product.
But how do you categorize your product, which you are selling?
You use all the data gathered by the various Google products[4](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_acquisitions_by_Google) , like:
- Google Search
- Google Chrome
- Gmail
- Google+
- Youtube
- Picassa
- Google Street View (WiFi)
- etc.
… And infer from the data set, what you are, and what your intentions might be. Quote:
“link by link, click by click, search is building possibly the most lasting, ponderous, and significant cultural artifact in the history of humankind: the Database of Intentions.” Source: What Google Knows, pdf
Essentially your whole digital life. Google is categorizing you, defining you, based on your actions on the net.(http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,587546,00.html
Since this is becoming a rather lengthy post, I would like to conclude that:
- We are a product.
- A source of information.
- Information about who you are.
- What your desires are.
These are not only interesting to Google – but also the government and/or hackers and plenty of other people. So I cant help but feel a little bit of watched whenever I go on the internet… (puts on tinfoil hat).
1: Source: Wiki, dont be evil
2: Source: Youtube, AdWords
3: Source: Wiki, AdSense
4: Source: Wiki, google acquisitions
5: Source: Website, Google know too much
6: Source: Wiki, data mining
Disclaimer: I love you google!
