Inside Google

A graphic display of what Google knows

John M. Simpson

Every wonder how much information Google has gathered? Scott Cleland, publisher of the Website GoogleMonitor.com, has pulled together a snappy one-page graphic, “Google’s ‘Total Information Awareness’ Power,” that answers the question.

New Google option: look like Bing home page

Margot Williams

Google is known for the “clean simple look” of its home page at Google.com. Bing has earned praise for the gorgeous photos changing daily on the Bing home page, stocked by Microsoft’s Corbis imagery.

Now Google has announced that you will be able to clutter up your Google.com page with a photo too.

Personalized search: Searching in a Bubble?

Margot Williams

My Google search results are looking too familiar. Looking for something new on the web for a topic of continuing interest, I enter some familiar terms. The same old sites keep turning up. OK, so Google is returning the most relevant results, based on the Google algorithm. Why do they seem so stale?

Join the “1 out of 15” opting out for privacy

Margot Williams

Last Tuesday in this space, I opted out of Google’s “interest-based advertising.” Later the same day, Google unveiled an opt-out tool for another personal information collection agent – Google Analytics.

Website owners can use Google Analytics to track visitors on their sites and Google collects the data from all the visits for its own use.

With $26.5 billion to invest, Google’s investment team sets up shop

Margot Williams

Google has opened its own trading desk to manage its $26.5 billion in cash and short-term investments, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.  Heading the team is company treasurer Brent Callinicos, who joined Google from Microsoft in 2007.  Under Callinicos, Google has built a “state of the art” cash management system, with technology that allows traders to […]

Google’s America: White and Male

Margot Williams

Google’s Economic Impact 2009 report (see Consumer Watchdog’s statement) released online and at a series of press events around the country on Tuesday, shows an off-key bias about our nation’s citizens.

Protect your privacy on Google: Tips from Computerworld

Margot Williams

A great “smart paranoid’s guide to using Google” at Computerworld today takes you step by step through “down-and-dirty details on how to maintain your privacy while using Google’s myriad services.” It’s chock full of precautions, security tips and instructions on how to disengage from Google collections of  information about you. The guide takes you from […]

Google needs to come clean on WiSpy

John M. Simpson

As the WiSpy scandal unfolded last week CEO Eric Schmidt, speaking in England, tried to calm the furor by claiming “no harm, no foul.” This week it’s clear that despite the fondest hopes of those in the Googleplex, the firestorm won’t go away.

Google shows the way on search engine encryption; others must follow

John M. Simpson

Google has announced that it is now offering privacy-friendly SSL encryption on its search engine, becoming the first major company to offer the protection. The company deserves credit and others who want to do more than pay lip service to privacy should immediately follow Google’s lead.

News pundit evangelizes for friends at Google

Margot Williams

James Fallows’s cover story in the Atlantic is titled “Inside Google: The Company’s Daring Plan to Save the News (and itself)”. On the web it’s just “How to Save the News.” I thought the article was a big wet kiss.