Hi Kyle,

Don't remember that Google craze specifically. The question that probably interests us all is what all can Google figure out from our browsing habits and what analytics are they using. i.e. that is to what degree are they uniquely identifying traits about me. Does Google and other social network offerings have an obligation to come clean about how they are handling/managing our identities?

The second more disturbing question is, "who are they sharing this with?"

My question about public good was meant to explore when would society demand that our search engine not be managed/controlled by private interests. Here I'm assuming that a state run service would have to have several audit controls to avoid an equally bad scenario of the state controlling the filter bubble.

-dc-

I'm not sure about the first question.  For the second, likely they aren't sharing but brokering access to you as a consumer.  Marketers will pay for advertising.

It is a very interesting question about when search engines would become public interest.  They are very close to a utility now.

Cheers,
Kyle

Sometimes I wonder about Google...not so much who they are sharing their data with, but how easy it would be for them to filter search results. For example, in China, when you search for Tiananmen Square, the search results are filtered. When you search for June 4th, you get info on birthdays and anniversaries, with no mention of the government crackdown. This is China we are talking about, but Google is complicent. 

Of course this wouldn't happen in North America, right?