Big Brother Google

From SE Watch Blog:

Google Is Big Brother

Looks like Frank Watson has it in for Google. Still. He has a point, yes. Google still seems to enjoy this "golden" status that it had before it was publicly traded. Some interesting points about Google:

Though everyone seems to know that Google is a giant, nobody seems to view Google as being "out to get" the little guys in the business world. This is different from, say, Microsoft, for instance, who seems to be the software world's bad guy for everything.

People don't seem to be averse to giving personal information to Google, as they might be to other personal networking/information portals on the web. Google's tools are increasingly powerful (i.e., checkout, book search, picasa, analytics), but the controversies about invasion of privacy don't seem to stick for Google. Some may disagree, but I don't see Google suffering in the public eye from the insecurities surrounding the proposed DoubleClick deal.

Google seems to be bent toward sincere pursuit of knowledge and advancement in computing. Of course, we all know that they have to make a buck, just like the rest of us, but their continued initiatives seem to be directed more toward advancing their overall field, rather than just their company. This too is different from the perception surrounding most other large software firms.

With all of that said, if things were to suddenly change, and Google were to suddenly seek their own interests above all else, it is feasible that we could see the Big Brother incarnation that Watson is prophesying.

But... C'MON!!!