A Crack in My Love of Google

I regularly tout Google as the long-term winner of our current tech battleground.  There is its search dominance, its ownership of Youtube (one of the most valuable media properties ever created in my opinion), and Android, just to name a few assets.  Not to mention that it's pushing the envelope in server design and snapping up small tech outfits, one of which might turn out to be a goliath.  Yet, there are some cracks in the facade.  Google has shown something of  a disregard for privacy rights and there are comments like these from programmers, which worry me:

"Google does have an office in Manhattan. You should definitely apply there - I don't think it's an interesting company to work for anymore (and their recruiters are second only to Facebook's in how pathetically desperate they seem when they contact me), but the interview process is really fun."

See more of this thread at http://developers.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2357190&cid=36936764

Hmmm... anecdotal but troubling if programmers no longer find Google interesting. 

Some Tidbits Buried in the Facebook Class Action Settlement

Facebook has recently agreed to settle a class action alleging that Facebook users' likenesses and names were used in connection with the site's Sponsored Stories ad program, without obtaining the users' prior consent.  No money will be paid to Facebook users as a result of the settlement because, as the papers filed in support of settlement attest, Facebook made almost no money per capita on the sponsored stories program and, thus, it makes no economic sense to distribute such minimal amounts to class members.  My takeaway from the case:  Facebook is really skirting the privacy line to extract minimal revenues from each of its users.  Of course, Sponsored Stories is only one program and, if you have enough users, even miminal revenue from each adds up.  Still, if Facebook is willing to risk alienating its users in this rather overt way to increase revenues, this suggests some desperation on the company's part.  Here is a link to a Wired article which discusses the settlement and links to a copy of the papers filed in support of the settlement, should you care to delve deeper.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/07/groups-get-facebook-millions/