Good article.

I didn’t grow up with computers, so my learning curve and level of trust for all things digital is still an ongoing process. In short — I don’t trust Google or Facebook or others like them. And it’s not because I believe all people who work there have sketchy motives and are inherently bad people. Quite the opposite actually. The problem is that their entire revenue machine is set up to maximize information and turn every human response into dollars. It’s in their “DNA.” It’s how they’ve become successful. Honestly, what is the likelihood that they will resist for extended periods of time, the urge to do what they were created to do?

The article poses an interesting question and answers it before the end. Google will eventually fall off the wagon and inhale. They will take this data and monetize it. It’s what they do.

We may not have created this “monster” but we certainly helped it to grow as big as it did and periodically let it further and further into our homes and into our lives. We’ve let the fox sublet a small patch of the hen house on the promise that it will never breech our trust and eat the tenants.

Would we really be that surprised if promises were broken? In 20 years, Google has become a noun, a verb, an adjective and an integral part of our lives. I use it every day and every time I do, I get an involuntary twitch, deep down where my fears and suspicions live. What is it telling me? That I shouldn’t use Google anymore and should switch to Bing and just get over myself? Or that it’s already too late to fix what Google is doing and will continue to do. Honestly, I’m not sure. I like Google. I like innovation and out-thinking problems. I just don’t like or trust anything having that much influence over my life.