Gmail Got You Nervous?
A few weeks ago I posted about Gmail, Google's new webmail service offering 1 GB of storage. Since then, several organizations have expressed concerns regarding privacy, as Google plans to scan emails for the purpose of providing customized ad placement. It is amazing how much attention this issue is getting. Are people really that ignorant about how much of their information is already being used in much worse ways than what Google is doing with it? Remember the Superbowl incident with Janet Jackson and the announcement from TiVo a couple days later about how it was the most replayed event in TiVo history? At least Google is telling us about what they are doing up front. I think this issue is getting blown way out of proportion.
But don't take my word for it. Tim O'Reilly has an excellent discussion on why the fuss needs to end.