Search Engines, Personal Info & Big Brother Paranoia

Wired is running an interesting story on what Search engines know about you, with choice quotes from Danny Sullivan and Daniel Brandt, him of the Brandt Rant fame... Links: Danny Sullivan recently discovered patent application from Google that details many ways in which big G can use your acceptance of their software, such as the dreaded toolbar, or Desk Top Search apps (which the other engines all provide aswell and thus are quite likely to use in similar ways...) to create and use reems of personal data gleaned from your online habbits. All in all, as I said, it's not new to many here, but it'll be an eye opener to some for sure. Personally, I couldn't care less - I dont mind giving up a little privacy for better tailoring of services and the like, and I'm more than capable of hiding my identity when I choose... Threadwatch.org Threadwatch is a group blog, or forum if you prefer, focusing on Marketing and Related Technologies - News and discussion for those that make their living on the WWW -