The Google plan: sell advertising everywhere

Those clever guys at Google… they’re planning to “organise the world’s information”, but also they should add that after organising that information, they’re going to “sell advertising on all of it”. And they don’t just mean public information and your emails, but eventually everything — including your personal documents and your desktop.

Before you freak out, I want to ask — is this really such a bad thing?

I don’t mind Google advertising… it’s relevant and unobtrusive. The fact that its relevant means that occasionally it’s been helpful to get an ad, because its relevant to what I am writing about or looking for. Because its not a flashing casino advertisement, I havent been irritated by it.

But see what they are doing: Advertising is sold on searches, on blogs and websites… but also our personal messages via GMAIL. Then there is Google desktop, Google base, Google docs (their online version of MS Word and Excel), Picasa… it’s not inconceivable that Google adwords will pop up alongside your personal docs and information. Google are obviously aiming to replace the Operating System (OS) and desktop. They will offer an online, always connected desktop.That’s why Microsoft are their best friends these days.

So get ready for a world where advertising is sold against EVERYTHING, even on your “new” Google desktop, your “new” Google OS and your personal docs. It may sound despicable to some, but its actually not. And remember — you always have a choice. I choose to use Gmail, I choose to allow Google to sell advertising against my personal emails.