Google Has a Bulldog Biting Its Ankle

February 23, 2022

I told a Googler I was going to give a speech at a conference in London and describe the company as “Googzilla.” The fellow, whom I shall not name because he is now a big time investor type Silicon Valley creation, said, “I love it.” My conversation with the Googler took place before Googzilla bought the dinosaur that graced its Mountain View offices. If you want to see what the beastie looks like with flamingos on its bones, click here. If the link does not resolve, well, use your imagination.

Yep, Googzilla. Now there is a feisty bulldog biting the digital creature on its ankle. No big deal. When dinosaurs stomp around, only other things get crushed, killed, or chomped.

The bulldog is the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Its bite is explained in “Google Says It Doesn’t ‘Sell’ Your Data. Here’s How the Company Shares, Monetizes, and Exploits It.” The bulldog does not recognize “data” as a plural, but what does one expect of bulldogs with law degrees? Strunk & White?

The main point of the write up strikes me as:

Google monetizes user data in myriad ways and talks about it in phrases only Googlers and Xooglers understand.

Why is this important? The article includes some data to illustrate what happens when ethical compasses are exposed to the magnetism of power and money:

Google controls about 62% of mobile browsers, 69% of desktop browsers, and the operating systems on 71% of mobile devices in the world. 92% of internet searches go through Google and 73% of American adults use YouTube. Google runs code on approximately 85% of sites on the Web and inside as many as 94% of apps in the Play store. It collects data about users’ every click, tap, query, and movement from all of those sources and more.

Think about that “and more” when you fire up your Chrome browser and use an Android device. What flourishes in the absence of regulation? Googzilla. And the bulldog biting its ankle.

Stephen E Arnold, February 23, 2022

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under Business strategy, Google, News

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.