Another Hopeful Tap on the PEZ Dispenser Outputting Google Bucks
February 11, 2022
Click, click, click. The clicks on the PEZ dispenser with the Googzilla decoration keep on coming. “Google Hit with $20 Million Verdict in Nest Thermostat Patent Trial” reports as “real” news:
“The only place in the world that a small-but-innovative company like EcoFactor is on equal footing with Google is inside a courtroom, in front of a jury,” Mirzaie [an EcoFactor professional] said.
If those courtroom visits in West Texas deliver the cash, will others follow this tactic. Asserting that Google was a bad actor and getting paid could become more popular. France is now employing the tactic after finding the Google trampling on data protection policies.
Click, click, click.
Stephen E Arnold, February 11, 2022
Google Has Competition: Little Outfit? Nah, a Country-Linked Company
February 11, 2022
For many years, my personal view of Google is that it has operated as a nation state. I have pointed out in my essays and lectures that Google lacks only an army. I suppose if the online advertising company needed a kinetic arm, the Wagner Group would be available.
Due to its perception of itself as a servant of its users (regular people, companies, and governmental entitites), Google has mostly operated with the spirit of the American Wild West. You know. Shooting buffalo from trains, doing the treaty bait-and-switch, and doing what was necessary to capture mother lodes.
I read “TikTok Takes on YouTube with 10-Minute Videos – But Will People Watch?” The write up states:
10-minute videos may be a stretch. We’re getting perilously close to the range of a web movie or TV show. The 2003 series Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a good example here, where episodes could range between three and twelve minutes. To be fair, we rather enjoyed that series. With the new 10-minute-range, TikTok could start bringing more episodic series to the platform. In the near term, though, TikTok’s new competitor is clearly YouTube, a platform that’s already attracting some TikTok creators anxious for more time on the digital stage. TikTok creeping in on YouTube territory can now upload videos up to 10 minutes long.
My thought was that Google has some competition, and that competition not only can make rules like Google, deal in high value transactions with few limitations, and has a loyal (witting and unwitting) “community” of billions.
If anyone can make Google feel a bit of competitive pressue, it may be the China-linked TikTok outfit. If TikTok is successful in nibbling on the big toe of Google, that in video eCommerce might catch the increasingly unreliable delivery king nervous as well.
Is it a good idea to have a company so large that only a real nation state can mount a challenge to the outfit which once said it would try to solve death? By the way, how it that going?
Stephen E Arnold, March 15, 2022
Google Speak: The Map Thing
February 9, 2022
I have a Kia and I have an old TomTom. I do not use maps from any of the mom and pop providers like Apple or Google. Why? I appreciate these alleged monopolies efforts to make my life so much better, I am okay muddling along as I have for the past 77 years.
I read “How Reviews on Google Maps Work.” The word “work” when employed by Google troubles me. For example, I don’t want a “work” space which requires me to figure out how to disable tracking which seems to forget my preferences. So “work” is a red flag at least for me.
The explanation is a good example of Google speak, the language of the Googley and those whom Google has misdirected. I have one old chestnut anecdote about Google Maps. Several years ago, I was giving a talk at a conference in Washington, DC. My team had met with the slightly frazzled conference organizer to suggest some topics for future conferences. After the meeting, I said I had to run an errand and floated the idea to eat at a restaurant called Cuba Libre. My colleagues and the big conference person whipped out their phones to figure out where the restaurant was. In fact, at that time Cuba Libre was two blocks from the hotel.
I arrived at the restaurant and waited outside for the three other people. None showed up. I called and said, “Where are you?” The answer from two was, “We’re looking for the restaurant. It’s not on Google Maps.” I gave verbal directions and called the super important conference fellow who said, “I couldn’t find the restaurant. I am on the way home. Maybe next time?” (There never was a next time.)
The two members of my team walked up to me and said, “Google did not have a listing for Cuba Libre.” I said, “No problem.” When I returned to my office, I poked around. Cuba Libre was not listed. I called the restaurant and asked for the manager. I asked that person, “Do you advertise via Google or list yourself in Google Local?” The answer was, “No.” I concluded that Google’s definition of “keep the information on Google relevant and accurate” means, “No ads. You don’t exist.”
The phrase “keep the information on Google relevant and accurate” comes from the write up “How Reviews on Google Maps Work.” To achieve relevance and accuracy, Google goes to great lengths. I learned:
As the world evolves, so do our policies and protections. This helps us guard places and businesses from violative and off-topic content when there’s potential for them to be targeted for abuse.
Well, if a business is not listed that is a sure fire way to solve the problem of reviews.
Google, with its one main revenue stream, relies on machine learning to absolve those tireless Googlers of certain tiresome tasks; for example, editorial controls, researching businesses in the heart of Washington, DC, and doing the accuracy thing.
The write up explains this deep diving, snorkel infused mechanism:
Machines are our first line of defense because they’re good at identifying patterns. These patterns often immediately help our machines determine if the content is legitimate, and the vast majority of fake and fraudulent content is removed before anyone actually sees it.
Okay.
I liked the lingo in the final paragraph of the write up:
With more than 1 billion people turning to Google Maps every month to navigate and explore, we want to make sure the information they see — especially reviews — is reliable for everyone. Our work is never done; we’re constantly improving our system and working hard to keep abuse, including fake reviews, off of the map.
Except for some businesses.
Stephen E Arnold, February 9, 2022
The FLoc Disperses: Are There Sheep Called Topics?
February 9, 2022
It looks like that FLoC thing is not working out for Google after all, so now it is trying another cookie-alternative called Topics. According to Inc., with this move, “Google Just Gave You the Best Reason Yet to Finally Quit Using Chrome.” Writer Jason Aten explains:
“Google said it would introduce an alternative known as Federated Learning of Cohorts, or FLoC. The short version is that Chrome would track your browsing history and use it to identify you as a part of a cohort of other users with similar interests. … The thing is, no one likes FLoC. Privacy experts hate it because it’s not actually more private just because the tracking and profiling happens in your browser. Advertisers and ad-tech companies don’t like FLoC because, well, they like cookies. They’d mostly prefer Google just leave things alone since cookies are what let them know exactly when you click on an ad, put something in your cart, and buy it. Now, Google is introducing an alternative it calls Topics. The idea is that Chrome will look at your browsing activity and identify up to five topics that it thinks you’re interested in. When you visit a website, Chrome will show it three of those topics, with the idea that the site will then show you an ad that matches your interest.”
Of course, all Chrome users will be enrolled in Topics by default. Google will provide a way to opt out, but it is well aware most users will not bother. If privacy is really important, why not just do away with targeted advertising altogether? Do not be silly—ad revenue is what Google is all about, even when it tries to pretend otherwise. Aten notes that Safari and Brave both allow users to block third-party cookies and neither had planned to support FLoC. Other browsers have ways to block them, too. According to this write-up, it is time to give up on Chrome altogether and choose a browser that actually respects users’ privacy.
Cynthia Murrell, February 10, 2022
A Non Googley Person Demonstrates That Fact
February 7, 2022
I read “Google Slides is Actually Hilarious.” Ms. Javier, may I call you Laura? Laura, I want to be helpful. You have identified logical functions in a content creation tool from the company that embodies technology. Your failure to recognize the company’s brilliance — essentially the breath-taking equivalent of Brunelleschi’s dome or Einstein’s theory of relativity — make it clear that you have to rewire your thinking in order to appreciate the outputs of Googzilla. I fear your write up offers hard evidence that you, earnest but obtuse Laura, are not Googley. Definitely.
Let me highlight three quantum supremacy grade functions you find amusing:
First, left aligned text in circles. Indeed, the stylistic touch is “very cool.” Competitive projects like Microsoft’s sad looking PowerPoint or Libre’s donkey-like Impress continue the death-by-slide-deck motifs that lost favor in one of General Schwarzkophf Jr.’s White House presentations. Believe me, the off center text offers a visual break from the dreary sameness of Department of Defense-contractor created slide decks. Loosen up. Don’t be like General Schwarzkopf Jr. Embrace the left aligned! Now!
Second, your statement that “it’s impossible to align text with images.” Oh, Laura, it is only impossible for the non-Googley. The work arounds are easy: [1] Write a script in Go. [2] Have the script output of the text presented in a PNG files as “art.” [3] Have the script create a new slide. [4] Have the Snorkel based AI determine the high probability location at which to paste in the art. [5] The Pichai approved smart software will copy the art from new slide to your rather lame slide with this type of calculation:
Thanks to MathIsFun.com for the circle.
[6] When the script ends, you can adjust final placement by holding the Shift key and using the cursor keys to move the PNG where you want it. What’s the big deal. Laura, dare I ask, “Are you adept at Go? Maybe Python?”
Finally, the “transparency slider that starts at zero.” Oh, Laura, you are in the visible light portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The Google is banging along in gamma ray land. It is obvious that sliders begin at zero and increment upwards, just like Google’s ad revenue and the number of irrelevant items in a search results page.
Net net: I know you will read books to learn, talk to people who are sadly not Googley, and try to be creative. It’s okay to be not Googley. Laura, I think I see some sunshine in this Google presentation situation.
Stephen E Arnold, February 7, 2022
Google: Sunset for So So Programmers?
February 4, 2022
I read “DeepMind Says Its New AI Coding Engine Is As Good as an Average Human Programmer.” Okay, what’s “average”? What’s the baseline and the methods of measurement? How big was the sample? Is the test replicable by a third party?
Oh, right. These are questions backed by “real” data in the “real news” write up. I suppose I am to suspend disbelief and do the Kubla Khan thing in a Kode Xanadu.
The write up reports as “real” news this:
DeepMind has created an AI system named AlphaCode that it says “writes computer programs at a competitive level.” The Alphabet subsidiary tested its system against coding challenges used in human competitions and found that its program achieved an “estimated rank” placing it within the top 54 percent of human coders. The result is a significant step forward for autonomous coding, says DeepMind, though AlphaCode’s skills are not necessarily representative of the sort of programming tasks faced by the average coder.
Yep, Statistics 101 and marketing speak. I love autonomous coding. Colorful.
Several observations:
- Why do low code or no code when one can get out front with the implied outcome: No humans needed for certain coding tasks. Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft will be eager to explain that their systems are better.
- Google’s desire to create a “quantum supremacy” claim reveals an insecurity at the core of the company. If the technology were the cat’s pajamas, why is the firm unable to generate substantive revenue from advertising?
- Why have Google’s most advanced technologies generated gushers of red ink, not marketing-dominating solutions which dwarf the firm’s advertising business?
From my vantage point Google is like the wealthy individual who made a fortune in B and lower motion pictures. This individual wanted to get into technology in order to go to a party and answer this question, “What business are you in?” This person, whom I knew prior to his demise, told me, “I don’t like saying dirty movies and girlie bars. I want to be in the technology business.”
Net net: Google wants to be perceived as the big dog in really advanced technology. Too bad. Just say, “We sell ads and we were inspired by the Yahoo, GoTo, Overture system. Of course, Yahoo had to fly eagles over the Googleplex, but, hey, we’re proud of our one money making system. But we also do no-human coding and are the quantum supremacists.“
I understand I think.
Stephen E Arnold, February 4, 2022
Google Observations: A Hoot and a Maybe Bit Frightening If Statements Are Accurate
February 4, 2022
I read an item on Hacker News which “tells” about an issue/observation. The comment points out that certain queries generate links on a search result page which point to questionable content. Interesting, but news? Not in Harrods Creek, the technology centroid of the world.
What is quite fascinating in the short article? The comments. Yep, the comments. There are quite a few gems scattered in the trollite outcrops.
Here are a few examples with the “names” of the entity generating the output. Remember. I am just sharing. These are not my observations, comments, or ideas. In fact, we think the current version of the Google is a heck of a lot better than Version 2.0 which I wrote a monograph about many years ago.
- “nobody gets promoted in Google for doing their job well. Only for inventing a new job to do.” – reaperducer
- “It was my mistake. I trusted Google.” — Silisili
- “I work for Google Search. We are looking into this.” – SullilvanDanny
- “My wife recently received, in her inbox, a spoofed email from her own email address on Gmail.” – andrewmcwatters
- “There is no end to The Greed.” – JayTaylor
Stephen E Arnold, February 4, 2022
Germany: Taps the Silicon Valley PEZ Dispenser
February 4, 2022
I spotted a German legal report which appeared a few days ago. You can find the German language document at this link. The thrust of the reported legal decision is that the use of Google Fonts violates the German view of a GDPR General Data Protection Regulation. The ruling means that Google’s tracking the IP address of a Google Font user violates user privacy. Google, according to the report, does not give the font user a way to turn off the tracking. The IP address of the defendant was transmitted to a Google server in the US. So what? Hitting the PEZ dispenser for a small amount of money is no big deal. Getting a long line of those hungry for PEZ output can be an issue, and the craze could spread to other EU countries PEZ fans. Worth watching even if one does not want a Google output of a few hundred dollars.
Stephen E Arnold, February 4, 2022
Google and Tracking Magic
February 4, 2022
Tracking user locations is baked in to Google’s apps, and that is unlikely to change as long as tracking data (“anonymized,” we are repeatedly assured) remains a valuable source of revenue. CNet considers, “Can You Really Stop Google from Tracking You? Here’s What We Know.” The short answer—you can try. Reporter Kelsey Fogarty writes:
“If you use Google’s apps on your iPhone or Android phone, it’s a good possibility you’re being tracked. And turning off your location history in your Google account doesn’t mean you’re in the clear. Disabling that setting may seem like a one-and-done solution, but some Google apps are still storing your location data. Simply opening the Google Maps app or using Google search on any platform logs your approximate location with a time stamp. In the latest lawsuits against the giant search engine company, Google has been sued by several states due to its use of location data. They allege Google makes it ‘nearly impossible’ for people to prevent their location from being tracked. After a 2018 investigation by the Associated Press, Google added features to make it easier to control what location and other data is saved, and what is deleted with features like Your Data in Maps and Search, which give you quick access to your location controls. However, DC Attorney General Karl Racine said, ‘Google falsely led consumers to believe that changing their account and device settings would allow customers to protect their privacy and control what personal data the company could access.’ Google has since defended itself.”
Of course it has. The company points to several measures one can take to “turn off” tracking, insisting control is in the hands of users. However, the write-up hints, there is no guarantee they will actually work. See the article for these methods—they may at least improve one’s odds. Or not. Google does promise one thing: users who turn off tracking will receive a less personalized experience, meaning less relevant ads and less helpful local search. Who needs privacy when one must have the name and number of the closest tapas joint.
Cynthia Murrell, February 4, 2022
Google: Ethical Ethics and Managing Management
February 3, 2022
I read “Two More AI Ethics Researchers Follow Timnit Gebru Out of Google.” The write up includes this statement:
“In a word, tech has a whiteness problem. Google is not just a tech organization. Google is a white tech organization,” Hanna writes. “More specifically, tech organizations are committed to defending whiteness through the ‘interrelated practices, processes, actions and meanings,’ the techniques of reproducing the organization. In this case, that means defending their policies of recruitment, hierarchization, and monetization.”
I also noted this passage:
Hanna and Baker told Bloomberg they also believe Google has become less willing to listen to employees in recent years. They specifically pointed to the company’s pursuit of potential contracts from the Pentagon over the past and the very public objections of its workers.
Google reported record financial results. The company faces headwinds outside of hefty ad revenue generation. The question is, “Will the firm continue to thrive despite its apparent approach to handling certain topics (ethical artificial intelligence), staff composition (diverse), and political (alleged monopolistic behavior)?
My hunch is that just as Facebook’s customer acquisition has slowed, Google faces similar erosion; for example, technical debt costs, increased customer acquisition cost, and what I call “trust” cost. Will the numbers offset the intangibles of managing and messaging?
Will Dr. Gebru’s new venture identify the risks of Google’s approach to content management and shaping? Worth watching the antics of the Google in crowd it is.
Stephen E Arnold, February 3, 2022
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