Google and Privacy Concerns

     To find an article on Google and Privacy, I used Google News.   I searched Google + privacy.  I found a blog  entitled “In Google We (Don’t) Trust”  by Clint Boulton. The blog is from eweek and is in response to a New York Times Magazine article entitled Google’s Gatekeepers by Jeffrey Rosen.   The blog was posted on December 2 and Rosen’s article in the Times is from November 28.  Both of these items are current and therefore, good sources of  information on recent concerns about Google and privacy.

      I chose Google News because I prefer Google search results.  For me, they are easy to read, scan,  etc.  It is also easy to access Google  search engines. Using Lexis Nexis or Academic Search Premier requires logging into the LaGuardia Library system and then into into one of the engines.  For me, performing searches should be a quick thing.  Since I am often pressed for time,  I prefer using  Google engines when possible. 

      In this blog , the author, Clint Boulton  responds to issues of Google and privacy.  He explains that Google in fact, does use information from prior searches to place certain ads, etc.  He writes that  last year he got married.  Based on searches related to his marriage,  Google often presented to him ads related to marriage.    He finds this a small price to pay for the ease of Google’s services and tools.

     Bouton states that  although there have been incidents of  online identity theft;  since Google’s inception ten years ago it hasn’t happened in any great numbers.  And in fact, it has occurredwith banks and other companies which offer online services. Boulton’s point is that privacy concerns are a non-issue.  He states that if  people still shop and bank online, they will still use Google .  

      The author, Boulton definitely has a strong  point of view. It seems that he found the New York Times article to overstate the case against Google a bit too much.  In citing Rosen’s article,  he says that Rosen writes that our trust in Google is a fragile thing,  that  although Google is an organization that wants to give people all the information they also want to control what that  information is.   Boulton claims that Google walks a fine line and it would not behoove them to destroy people’s trust in them.

       On the other hand,  Boulton states that he thinks Google’s trying to convince the government that it is not that powerful seems a little lame.  He likens Google to Microsoft.  Although Microsoft was a monopoly,  it didn’t really deter people from using   it.  And he asserts that Google has created a monopoly but it won’t stop him or others from using it.

       Prior to this, I hadn’t read much about Google and privacy.  However,  I do agree with Boulton that people are already entrenched in online services which profile them and have access to their information.  If that is the case, why abandon Google?

Future of the WEB

Well, I am not sure I completely understand the future of the Web.   The article explains the semantic web as a reworking of the web to read now unreadable information.  If I understand it correctly, it will almost be able to guess what you need or read your mind, so to speak. The author discusses an example in which someone is able to gather information about medical specialists,  make appointments, rearrange preexisting schedules etc, all by instructing her Semantic web agent.

  In the article, Metz  mentions that the new web would optimize searches.  As cited in the article, presently when one searches Paris Hilton, results are also given for the Hilton in Paris.   Right now, research is being done to make searches more efficient.  According to Metz, it’s not necessarily about making the pages easier to read but creating and designing software that can better read the pages already on the web.          

      It seem that some of the ideas mentioned in the article are futuristic, almost a little creepy, shall we say.   One example given in the article is that a bathroom mirror might be web connected . This would allow you to get weather, news or perhaps listen through music form the Web.  The windows in your might know when to open and close depending on weather.  It’s all very Jetsons. I am having a hard time going beyond this because I am not sure I understand it all. All of the possibilities mentioned in the article seem feasible.  Perhaps, your refrigerator will also be able to tell you what is in it or what is needed based on what you usually buy-  kind of like a Fresh Direct grocery list.

Copyright Laws

I am not sure that I have a clear cut opinion about copyright laws.  While I feel that intellectual property needs to be protected, I am still a little confused about the issue. I perused several of the articles which came up in the search.   And after reading them, both sides have valid points and I am not sure I have a firm enough grasp of either side to give my opinion

      It seems that some people feel we must open up the copyright laws to allow for the advancement of technology- ie: the  Internet and that the government should find a way to step in and allow for compensation for artists and dissemination of material.  In addition, some of the articles contain the assertion that the music industry is trying to “punish” music lovers and that copyright laws are not really being broken.  

       In reading some of the articles that were in favor of changing copyright laws, I also understand their points.  Piracy of movies seems rampant and is against the law.  In this instance, the answer seems clear cut.  However, with the popularity of such sites as youtube and others, it seems that the possibilities for copying and then disseminationg of tv shows, movies, etc. are endless.

    In closing, I guess that I feel there needs to be a middle-ground.   The copying, piracy and dissemination of material in the digital age is rampant.  There should be a away to monitor it without completely stopping and criminalizing it.

Google Books

I read the poems “Playmates” and “Forbidden Fruits” from the Selected Poems of Emily Dickinson.   Both poems were short so I did not have too much trouble reading them online. However, I did have to scroll up and down a few times.  Since I was reading online and did not have book in hand, I found it difficult to figure out whether the bold print was the title of the next poem or perhaps the name of a new stanza.  It is difficult to get a feel for the layout reading online.   It is a different experience from reading a news article or a wikipedia entry or an email.  Poetry is something I want to reread over and over again for meaning and style.  I was not comfortable scrolling up and down to reread.  As I said in my opinion of Kindle, I prefer to touch a book.   I think Google Books and Kindle and similar devices are useful, helpful and wonderful advancements in technology.   And as time passes,  I am confident I will become more used to them.   However, I still think that the experience of reading a  book is unparalleled.

       I found Google Books easier to use than Cuny+.  I find most Google engines to be very easy for the user.  Google Books seem very straight forward.  I put the name of the book in the search, found it, clicked on it and  the poems were there.  I found Cuny+ to be a slightly harder to negotiate.  It was more confusing and the layout of the results were not as accessible and readable.  In addition, the format and layout of Google Books is much easier for the researcher and reader.  In the instance of the assigned poems, the pages were clear and readable.

Getting News

   I am the type of person who keeps the TV on as background noise.   l love  watching NewYork1 for local news and features on entertainment and local celebrities.  If there is nothing elso I care to watch, I will keep New York1 on.  Since they tend to repeat the stories every hour, I usually become VERY familiar with those news items.

     When looking for more wide -reaching news stories, such as news related to the Presidential campaign or finanical bailout , I will usually turn to CNN.  

      Online, I like to peruse the silly stories on AOL about my favorite celebrities.  I also enjoy reading about things such as decorating, health information, etc. Before checking my email,  I always browse the AOL headlines to see if there is something of interest.

    In addition,  I often go to websites such as Mets.com or MLB.com to check the scores or times of games. I subscribe to the New York Times online although I admit I don’t read it that often.  I prefer reading the paper.  However, I don’t get to that everyday. 

       I also read Time Out magazine for entertainment news and options in New York City.

       In closing, I look news stories up on the web almost everyday – just not someplace specific.  If there is something I want to know more about, I type it into my browser and search for more details.

         I

Obama article

I read the article, entitled “Obama and Ayers Pushed Radicalism on Schools” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122212856075765367.html  by Stanley Kurtz.  The article is timely; it was written on September 23, 2008 and was published on the Wall Street Journal.com  I found this article by searching Barack Obama + William Ayers in Google.  

   The article attempts to explain the relationship between Barack Obama and William Ayers, a member of the Weather Underground, a group responsible for bombing the Pentagon in the seventies.   It explains the that Mr. Obama served as chairman of Chicago Annenberg Challenge, a group founded by Mr. Ayers. CAC funded the public schools initiated by William Ayers. These schools, says Mr. Ayers, “teach against oppression, against America’s history of evil and racism, thereby forcing social transformation”  The author, Stanley Kurtz wants the reader to question the relationship between Barack Obama and William Ayers. I believe Stanley Kurtz would like the reader to challenge the Obama campaign’s response to the relationship.  The audience for this article are people interested in the connection between Obama and Ayers.  It is also probably directed toward undecided voters in an attempt to dissuade them from the Obama camp.

McCain article

I read the article, “Bear Facts about John McCain” http://www.salon.com/env/feature/2008/10/07/john_mccain_bears by Katharine Mieszkowski which was published on  the Salon.com  website.    The article is timely because it was written on October 6, 2008.  It addresses a study of grizzly bears which McCain funded originally but is now using as a punchline during his campaign speeches. In my opinion, this article is meant for conservationists and people interested in various points of view on John McCain.  The article wants to persuade people that the grizzly bear study is important and that McCain is wrong for poking fun at it. Beyond that, the article is trying to get the reader to vote against McCain. 

I found this article by putting John McCain into search bar in Internet Explorer.

Grafton’s Future Reading

     The article “Future Reading” by Anthony Grafton discusses the future of research, reading and books.  The article explains that Google was trying to create a comprehensive catalog of all the books ever printed.  The goal of the project, Google Book Search was “to build a comprehensive index of all the books in the world.”  In a related project, the Google Library Project, Google works with great libraries around the world in attempt to digitize them.  In addition, Microsoft and Amazon have undertaken similar projects .  

  
    The idea behind these projects is that information, books, research and ideas will become connected and accessible. Grafton quotes Kevin Kelly of Wired as saying “all the books in the world would become a single liquid fabric of interconnected words and ideas.”  Many ideas have been bandied about as to what the ultimate goal of these projects are.  They range from all books being available online to a total history of the human race. 
 
      The main idea of the article is that due to some inherent glitches in this process, people will still have to use both the Internet and libraries.  According to Grafton, it appears as if the cataloging will not be as fluid as hoped but will be a series of different tools that can be used in tandem; some by all, some by those who can pay for it.  At this point, all things are not digitized.  Perhaps, some things never will be. One of the problems raised in the article is that of copyrighting. Of the estimated  thirty-two to one hundred million books ever published, approximately seventy-five percent of those are out of copyright. Google has been scanning these items, but not making them available to the public as of yet. This does seem to be a slippery slope for Google and this project.

     Another interesting aspect of this project is making information available to those who normally don’t have access to it. The article talks about poverty being equated with the ability to access information.  Because certain books from poorer, third world countries may not generate revenue for subscriber services, they are less likely to be digitized. However, it goes on to discuss how widespread information is with the Web. It provides information, ideas and books to those who would not have had access to them as recent as twenty years ago.

     In closing, the article suggests that if you want the experience of reading books, of looking at bindings, marginalia, etc you must use your local library.  Although these projects are quite ambitious, there are still some volumes, first editions, documents, etc that one must experience in a hands-on way.  The combination of Internet and library will increase manifold the ability to research effectively.

     

First Attempt at Blogging

Hi.  My name is Lisa.  This is my first blog.   I’m taking this class to learn more about navigating the Internet (beyond the basics) and because it is 1 credit.  I’m also taking Beginning Sculpture and Art in New York this semester.  I live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

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