GMail will kill us all in our sleep

[smoothmoniker]

I'm sure you've all heard of GMail by now, Google's proposed free email service. 1 gig of storage, all your emails saved and searchable by content. They pay for this free service by scanning your incoming email, and placing ads in the window that correspond to the text of the email.

Well, of course, as with any good idea, there are morons opposing it on the ground that it’s an invasion of privacy. This is such a specious argument. The right to privacy fundamentally hangs on the principle of consent. If I consent to let you search my underwear drawer, then there’s no violation of privacy; I’ve vacated my right. Google is not “secretly” mining information here – they’ve been vocal and public in advertising what they intend to do if you sign up for the service.

I guess what fires me up here are two things. First, the sense that we “ignorant consumers” need to be protected from the product, that we are incapable of making an informed decision as to whether or not Google’s product is worth giving up some privacy to use. I call horseshit. That’s my choice to make, not the choice of the California state senate.

The second is that this is obvious pandering to a simple-minded constituency group. There is such vitriol against the “Evil Corporations” right now that any move a company makes is suspect, and clearly must be an abuse of the consumer. Just because a company offers a product doesn’t mean you have to use it. They think they can offer a useful service to you, and in return they rent your eyeballs for a few seconds, which they charge other companies to use. That’s not evil, that’s capitalism. As long as there are competing services, as long as everyone is engaging with informed consent, what’s the problem here?

-sm

[Undertoad]

The complainers can go without their "email-examining" spam filters for a while to see whether they like the idea.

[Pie]

Originally posted by Undertoad
The complainers can go without their "email-examining" spam filters for a while to see whether they like the idea.

Yeah, but my filter reports to me alone. No one or thing else is the wiser. That's why I run my own mail server, my own DNS, etc.

- Pie

[Undertoad]

Same is true of Gmail, I'm sure. It's just reporting different information.

[BrianR]

Do they also scan spam? I shudder to think of the banner ads I'd get if they did that!

I wonder what a banner for a bigger dinkie would look like?
Not to mention bigger boobs, smaller thighs and piles of credit I don't need or want.

[SteveDallas]

Originally posted by smoothmoniker
GMail will kill us all in our sleep

As long as they do it tonight, so I don't have to finish my tax return

[xoxoxoBruce]

I'll bet that 87.4% of the people that sign up, don't read the disclaimer that you always have to say you read and agree to. Hell, I'll bet 53.6% don't read the large print explanation of how it works.

[smoothmoniker]

I don't see how that impacts informed consent. They've been informed, whether they have taken pains to understand what they've been informed of or not, and they have given consent. Google is doing their due diligence by advertising their intent and receiving the consent of their customers.

-sm

[Griff]

I don't have any problem with Google doing this for profit. There will be a problem when the Feds inevitably get involved. If Google is successful, we're talking about centralizing a lot of traffic which will be a plum too juicey to leave on the tree. Of course, I must be doing something wrong to have privacy concerns.