Dear
James Gleick,
After
reading your article, “How Google Dominates Us,” I know that I am guilty of
using the Internet without consciously realizing that I am selling my
information for free. Companies like Google have created policies that allow
them to gather information about their users and advantage of that new
knowledge. “Google—monitoring its users’ behavior so systematically—had instant
knowledge of which ads were succeeding and which were not” (How Google
Dominates Us). With this information Google is able to create data to send to
advertising companies, which ultimately helps them create better
advertisements. Google is making a large profit off of their users and
most of them are unaware of this matter. Yes, it’s true that if we don’t want
to be tracked we can opt out, but many users don’t know how to do this. This
technique that Google chooses to use with their consumers reminded me of an
intelligence agent. “The intelligence agent in the broadest sense of the word
is concerned with gathering and analyzing information for the immediate or near-term
benefit of others” (Koehler, Lester). Google’s practices are almost the exact
same characteristics this type of profession yet they allow a database instead
of a person, to conduct their research.
One
downside of sharing personal information on Facebook, or other social
networking sites is the fact that what you say on the Internet will be stored
forever. “The Library of Congress is archiving all tweets, presumably for
eternity, a fact that should enter the awareness of teenagers, if not members
of Congress” (How Google Dominates Us). I think it’s very crucial, especially
for our generation to understand that what we put on the Internet can truly
affect our future. Often times we don’t think that posting an offensive word or
bad-mouthing a certain person will affect us in the future. Yet, today it is
very common for employers and colleges to look into your social networking
sites and read things that you’ve previously posted.
James Gleick (2011). “How Google Dominates Us.” The
New York Review of Books.
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