The recent SNAFU from Google has caught a lot of people off-guard, at the very least. Several people have expressed a great deal of rage over the fact that their privacy, which they believed to be safe, was obliterated by Buzz.

In witnessing the very strong emotions that were circling Buzz, I found it difficult to feel the same way. It’s certainly not the case that I have difficulty feeling anger (or even rage), but something about it all seemed “off” to me.

I could understand individuals who were reconnected with dangerous people from their past feeling a great deal of anger–or even rage–but I could not quite understand the level of anger from people who were not affected as directly.

After thinking about this for a couple days, I came across an idea that made a lot of sense, and I would be open to feedback around it as well.

You are not Google’s customer

Google is primarily a deliverer of advertisements (to the tune of 97% of their revenue).

You, as a gmail user, are the target of those advertisements… but you are not the customer.

Google does not have to please you–they have to please the people who pay them money.

There is no reason that this wouldn’t occur to the vast majority of people as we live in a society where “free” is all too often not to be questioned.

However, as we can see, with Google Buzz… “free” in terms of dollars and cents does not mean there is no cost.

I’m not saying it’s evil or wrong to use Google, or even that what they’re doing is evil or wrong. However, I think it’s important–especially those of us who strive for self-awareness–to be empirical and rational, as much as we can.

If you opt to use a service that isn’t charging you any money, then you very likely have little to no guarantee as to your privacy. Email is certainly valuable, and that service is providing that value in order to get something out of you.

Knowing what that something is will help you make an informed decision as to whether you ought to be using it.

Using Google’s services is completely voluntary. There is nobody holding a gun to your head, requiring you to use their email, or online applications, or web browser. However, just be aware that these things are presently for the benefit of Google’s advertisers, not yours.

Again, there’s nothing wrong with that–it’s just a fact to keep in mind as you walk through life.

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