I became suddenly paranoid yesterday after reading more about the kind of data that Google has on everyone. My initial reaction was to get a second computer to use for searching and surfing on the Internet, but that, of course, does not change the fact that they know who owns the computer. You could go to a library or community center but then that is completely unrealistic. I use Google almost every time I use the Internet.
Maybe I should not be so paranoid, who would want to sift through something so incredibly boring anyway. I just imagine a Business Intelligence tool that uses search engine data to pinpoint consumers, employees or citizens for marketing, firing or controlling. I can’t help feeling that this really smacks of big brother. It’s all out there now, a million digital fingerprints on everything we touch. I have always strongly believed that Internet technology could bring true democracy through the availability of information worldwide and by putting such a serious means of communication into the hands of the individual. Here is the dark side to such a revolution. What could be a vehicle of freedom could end up being a vehicle of control. I think this is the first time that I have been seriously worried about what technology can do. I will never be able to stop using the Internet now. I am in fact, like everyone else, completely reliant on it
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