So we all know that Google “Chrome” has launched right? Personally, “Chrome” makes me feel like a 10 year old trying to use the internet, I mean the whole UI just feels very childish, but that’s beside the point. What nobody seems to be addressing is the information that Google will now have about it’s users.
Google made a brilliant move. Advertising is gearing more towards extreme targeting, meaning the more you know about someone the more targeted of an ad you can show them. If you’re the number one search engine in the world and you wanted to capture more information on your users, what would you do? Create your own browser.
It was long rumored that the Google toolbar (the little add on that gives you the green bar, your supposed page rank) was a secret spy that collected information from your browsing pattens. My SEO colleagues tested this and found out it was true. Now imagine the information you are going to be giving to Google when you are using their browser? Google is going to have information on all of your click patterns, your site history, etc. Who knows, using the browser may even help fuel the google analytics tool that so many people are using on their sites.
I think in the next few years we are going to start to see Google develop a targeted ad placement platform like no other. With around 70% market share in the U.S. Google is going to have more data on everyone’s browsing history than you can imagine. I’m sure when it comes time for Google to go after the mobile advertising space that they will have a “mobile” version of Chrome that will allow them to also serve extreme targeted mobile ads as well.
Since Chrome is so new there haven’t been any tests yet to determine what information Google can actually get from us, but I can tell you that it does feel a little bit like Big Brother is watching you, don’t you think?
I’m not saying use or don’t use Google Chrome, I’m merely trying to give my take on the new move that Google has made and what it is going to mean for us as users and what is going to mean for advertisers.
What do you think about Google’s move to launch their own browser?
Hi Jacob, I thought about this too. But when the source code of Chrome is published it will be quite clear if the browser sends any information about the browser's user to Google. Yet we'll wait and see 🙂
Here's the answer (or part of) from Matt Cutts:
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/google-chrome-com…
But I do think Chrome would grab more information and as I'm a bit naive, I hope it's to generate a smarter web experience 😉
I think you bring up a good point here. One can only hope the information they gather is to make the world a better place (or at least to not be evil with).
I think Google Chrome is brilliant. I've had no problems with it so far and it works like a browser should work. As for the data collection I personally don't care. If they are collecting more precise data and making the analytics more precise then that should help the internet evolve in a more precise manner based on how people are truly using it. Plus any targeted ads that I would see don't bother me as much as untargeted stuff. I'm not being forced to click on them and I'd rather see ads for products I like than for stuff I couldn't care less about.
As a Total-Scope Internet Applications developer, I feel the weight of a designer browser. I want more of them. But I believe the privacy issue can cut both ways. I think it will ultimately unravel, and in the best possible way. It will fork soon.
The main thing that really excites me about Chrome, is it being tuned to web applications rather than static content. I buy the premise of the browser being designed for how the web IS, not how the web WAS. But if the Chrome source is open, then that software will flow into other browsers though, which will cause Google to loose the information gathering feature they benefit from themselves.
As a web systems designer, the idea of a browser being made for web applications as a focus is a great idea and I believe it will lead to people launching their own browsers more and more, but from a code base which will be more and more standardized and modular. So my first thought when I heard the code would be open is that “other” googles – any one from Twitter to Zoho or my own companies, will eventually start releasing their own browsers too. Why not? If you spend so much time in your life using a company's products, why not use a product that integrates best with what you already use most? And if you already trust a company, why not maximize how much they can empower you but snuggling up further. As long as there is strong privacy and open source ethics in place where the community can see what the tool is actually collecting, I think more and more information will be harvested with less violation of privacy.
ya we will see. they are sneaky though, im sure they will find a way to capture data even if they don't tell us about it 🙂
hi romain,
i saw that too but i'm still not convinced that the browser is not going to be collecting more information than it says it will. remember the goolge toolbar? that little thing collects all sort of info on your browsing history as well and most people don't even know about it!
thanks for reading/commenting!
hey tim,
haha ya let's hope. nobody make google angry or they can probably end the world.
hey josh,
i'm glad you like the browser. im sure there a lot of people that don't care about the info sharing with google, im not trying to scare anyone or dissuade anyone from using it. I just think it's an interesting angle to take on the browser that nobody else has addressed yet. it will be interesting to see what kind of targeted advertising google will be able to roll out.
thanks for reading and commenting!
good points. it's interesting to hear your take on this since you are obviously more technical than most. the idea that the browser is made for web applications is a novel idea. it makes me think of the iphoone apps, perhaps the browser will be the new “iphone” with apps being continuously developed for it.
i heard that same thing about the code being open but i know there are a lot of ways to change and manipulate data. not trying to be paranoid but we are talking about the world largest advertiser here.
but who knows, once the platform is out for a while and we have time to test and examine it, we will hopefully get some more information.
thanks for reading and commenting!
should be interesting to see if Chrome works more efficiently than FireFox… if it's faster than Firefox, since isn't IE, then i'll use it
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ya im a bit curious to find out myself. firefox is pretty darn good though.
thanks for reading and commenting!
Yikes! Gives a whole new meaning to “too much information.” No offense to Google, but I don't even want my marital partner to know that much about me.
haha ya it's a bit like the IRS on steroids 🙂
ya im a bit curious to find out myself. firefox is pretty darn good though.
thanks for reading and commenting!
Yikes! Gives a whole new meaning to “too much information.” No offense to Google, but I don't even want my marital partner to know that much about me.
haha ya it's a bit like the IRS on steroids 🙂
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