Google has made their mark and been successful at least partly because of their ‘do no evil’ motto. Their advertising has always been low keyed and pertinent to what you’re doing. Not random banner flash ads in popup windows on random things you don’t care about. Usually subtle little text ads remarkably relevant to what you’re trying to find.
Now Google is abusing their power buy advertising in the most important place on the web, where no one else can advertise at any price. And the ad is not targeted in any way. Its a blanket ad for everyone regardless of interest.
This hints at the eventual abuse of power that the Google empire allows. When all searches run through Google, you run a Google browser on your Google operating system tied to your Google phone, all your ads are served by Google’s Admob, your videos come from Google’s Youtube… When they tie together all of your activities on your PC, phone (including voice), when they run voice recognition on your phone conversations and index them for your benefit…
Too much power. Like big brother watching everything you say and do. Indexing, cross referencing. Able to sell this information for all sorts of advertising. To the highest bidder, or for their own uses.
Even now, they could easily check who does searches about cell phones, and target ads on Admod to appear on your iPhone to sell you a Nexus one.
Simply spooky. Privacy erodes one step at a time, often without notice, until its too late and the genie can’t be put back in the bottle.
Posted by dm33 
