Google to buy Digg for $200 million?

[purplex]

Yet another error: Google emplotyee's don't have access to personal data and there's very strict controls in place...

Mis-quoting me, where did I say Google employees? I haven't referred to Google's employees at all. Are you a Google employee? Is that why your getting so upset, taking it so personally? Or do you like advertising invading every element of your existence, your personal history being recorded, in order to insidiously target you. I dont and
there are many others like me, for the record I dont work with market research bureaux or use store discount cards for the same reason.
It seems you only wish to "catch me out" and are failing to address my concern, that basing a business on other peoples personal data, without explicit upfront approval, and hiding the reality away behind another link with font size=-2 (check it out) is immoral, the average joe in the street has no idea how google works, and if they did, I suspect they would find other alternatives.

 

[purplex]

wisdom of the crowds! open source! wikipedia!
what the cool people think this is is millions of people adding bits at a time to make something fantastic.
what it really is, is self-selecting cabals obsessing over projects

not that that's not a good way of develping things, but it shouldn't be thought of as something new and wonderful and different




awesome, I got an 'is is' and a 'that that' in one post

 

[purplex]

how do you search the web then?

Scroogle

for one

 

[bouncer_the_dog]

$200m seems a little low for Digg... but maybe google can develop a better algorythm (there my first internet complaint about the digg algorythm) please can some one alleviate my dissatisfaction by Digging my Vid!!!

http://digg.com/comics_animation/Cute_Meatball_Based_Cartoon_and_Song

 

[jæd]

Scroogle

for one

So, instead of a public company that has established practises for dealing with private data, and has established offices and has to comply with various US regulations, you'd trust some unknown people who just put a web page somewhere....

 

[Crispy]

People have analysed the mechanics of digg. putting 'digg this!' at the bottom of your page is useless. telling your friends to digg your link is useless. the only way to get stories onto the front page of digg is to make an account, and start spammin other users to get in the friends network. then you have to actually make friends and influence people to get them to like your submissions and vote them up to the front page. Digg is not a crowd-filtered view of the internet, it's a popularity contest between relatively few obsessive geeks.

 

[bouncer_the_dog]

People have analysed the mechanics of digg. putting 'digg this!' at the bottom of your page is useless. telling your friends to digg your link is useless. the only way to get stories onto the front page of digg is to make an account, and start spammin other users to get in the friends network. then you have to actually make friends and influence people to get them to like your submissions and vote them up to the front page. Digg is not a crowd-filtered view of the internet, it's a popularity contest between relatively few obsessive geeks.

Can we add that to Urban then?

 

[Fez909]

I am purlexed by purplex. Do you boycott Amazon, too? After all, they insidiously target their products at you based on your buying and browsing history!!!! This is a grave violation of my prescious bodily privacy

 

[Iam]

Mis-quoting me, where did I say Google employees? I haven't referred to Google's employees at all. Are you a Google employee? Is that why your getting so upset, taking it so personally? Or do you like advertising invading every element of your existence, your personal history being recorded, in order to insidiously target you. I dont and
there are many others like me, for the record I dont work with market research bureaux or use store discount cards for the same reason.
It seems you only wish to "catch me out" and are failing to address my concern, that basing a business on other peoples personal data, without explicit upfront approval, and hiding the reality away behind another link with font size=-2 (check it out) is immoral, the average joe in the street has no idea how google works, and if they did, I suspect they would find other alternatives.

Fight the power!

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Can we add that to Urban then?

The latest vBulletin does actually have lots of modules for Digg-like features and other social-network-crowdsourcing guff. They're in the section marked "No Thanks None Today".

 

[Pingu]

With great respect pingu, thats utter shite, its not advertising that enables them to have a huge search engine, its technology. No-one ever charged to use a search engine before, and frankly in a competitive environment, doing so would be commercial suicide, its a crap reason. They could legitimately offset the cost of running their search engine from other commercial activities. They are greedy corporate scum like the rest. Your point about blocking ads is correct but its only a small percentage of people who understand what google is really doing, about how they store your searches to target ads at you, they truly are a disgusting company.

havnt read the rest of the thread post this but:

do you have any idea how expensive it is to run a search engine the size of google? you are not just talking about a couple of hundred thousand. the technolgy costs millions.

and it costs a fuck load to keep running too.

 

[Pingu]

Mis-quoting me, where did I say Google employees? I haven't referred to Google's employees at all. Are you a Google employee? Is that why your getting so upset, taking it so personally? Or do you like advertising invading every element of your existence, your personal history being recorded, in order to insidiously target you. I dont and
there are many others like me, for the record I dont work with market research bureaux or use store discount cards for the same reason.
It seems you only wish to "catch me out" and are failing to address my concern, that basing a business on other peoples personal data, without explicit upfront approval, and hiding the reality away behind another link with font size=-2 (check it out) is immoral, the average joe in the street has no idea how google works, and if they did, I suspect they would find other alternatives.

i would guess that you have no idea how google works eitehr tbh...

 

[purplex]

i would guess that you have no idea how google works eitehr tbh...

Please explain...Where am I wrong? That google doesnt collect data, that they dont make money from it, that they dont explicitly state this where people will actually see it, that they can give that they to whomever they wish. Im all ears, penguin type.

 

[purplex]

I am purlexed by purplex. Do you boycott Amazon, too? After all, they insidiously target their products at you based on your buying and browsing history!!!! This is a grave violation of my prescious bodily privacy

You very deliberately go to Amazon to buy products, entirely different.

 

[Iam]

Please explain...Where am I wrong? That google doesnt collect data, that they dont make money from it, that they dont explicitly state this where people will actually see it, that they can give that they to whomever they wish. Im all ears, penguin type.

I'd have said you're not wrong in those terms, but I think that's not what he meant.

Nonetheless, nothing you've said is news to anyone, I'd imagine. You're advised to read the T&Cs when you sign up for or otherwise use just about anything. If you don't that's your own silly fault.

Oh noes! I have to manually click a link and read something which tells me exactly what you're complaing about!!!

*waits for world to end*

*goes back to work*

 

[Pingu]

Please explain...Where am I wrong? That google doesnt collect data, that they dont make money from it, that they dont explicitly state this where people will actually see it, that they can give that they to whomever they wish. Im all ears, penguin type.

in that you have no idea of the technology behind it or how expensive it is and therefore needs a means of revenue to sustain its existance.. hence the adverts. I am not a fan of adverts eiteher but its not difficult to bypass them (the computer mags even have articles in them showing how to do this so its not exactly a state secret ...e.g. this months computer shopper). if people are too lazy or stupid to learn a bit about sometghing they use then thats their problem. the data google collects is no big secret either its been all over the net and press for ages now.

You very deliberately go to Amazon to buy products, entirely different.

you also deliberately go to google to do searches.. no one forces you to

 

[Fez909]

You very deliberately go to Amazon to buy products, entirely different.

you also deliberately go to google to do searches.. no one forces you to

Exactly. One is providing you with a service, and one with a product. Both of these providers are offering you further products or services based on your previous habits. It's not rocket science.

 

[jæd]

Mis-quoting me, where did I say Google employees?

I'm sure that in time they will be prevented by some government somewhere from using private data for their personal gain.

In order for someone to use something for personal gain they need to a person...

I haven't referred to Google's employees at all. Are you a Google employee? Is that why your getting so upset, taking it so personally?

Nope, though I do know several Google employees and have had several drinking sessions with them... I'm just amazed that someone can, in the overwhelming face of people correcting to you can stick to you misguided notions. And all of them are available if you use this free search engine thing...

And you're a new poster. Back in the day newbies used to respect people who had been around a bit... Oh well, must be the quickest new poster -> ignore list yet...

Or do you like advertising invading every element of your existence, your personal history being recorded, in order to insidiously target you.

But it doesn't... In return for Tescos knowing I buy lots of cheese, I get £££ back. In return for looking at me searches, I get a free search-engine. Now you know I like cheese. Oh..! No...! U75 is a spyware website...!

there are many others like me, for the record I dont work with market research bureaux or use store discount cards for the same reason.

So, because of your paranoia, you get charged extra in Tescos...

It seems you only wish to "catch me out" and are failing to address my concern, that basing a business on other peoples personal data, without explicit upfront approval, and hiding the reality away behind another link with font size=-2 (check it out) is immoral,

Then just don't use it.

the average joe in the street has no idea how google works, and if they did, I suspect they would find other alternatives.

Average joe in the street thinks Google works by magic...

 

[GarfieldLeChat]

I wonder what percentage of users of the search Page click on the privacy page. Why doesnt it say, "How we use your information and surfing habits to make us money, rather than Privacy?", they go on about being transparent, that would be truly transparent surely. Tin foil hat, youre trying to make out Im mad, <snip - tos removed - don't we have an FAQ somewhere about cut and pastes oddessies... >

In essence they make money from you using their search engine and can do whatever they like with your information (developing new services).

no shit sherlock next on 'it's the interweb: cars make the enviroment worse, smokers get cancer and of course our daily specail the sun will rise in the east tomorrow shocker..."

i mean really can you name me one permenantly solid revenue stream on the internet which isn't advertising based... in fact aside from product sales advertising is the only form of viable commerce until the life blogging communities start up in around 5 years... (and mirco formatting becomes the new world order) and even then guess what will be at the heart of the lifeblogging revolution... yup you guessed correctly the advertising model is still going to be as strong as ever it was.

and of coruse the larger firms are going to data stream information and group it according to profiled sets... for a start that's how business works, secondly it's how geeks work, thirdly it's how any decent usuable filing system works.

using the data of your searches to better improve the process or to justify their revenue stream by havig evidence of the impact of a brand campaing is what all market research companies have been doing for years...

just because the technology which is doing it is new doens't mean the method or the checks and balances are any different.

You are attempting to state this is a new more insidious methodology but it's the same methodology which has always been there...

besides I'll bet you don't use ebay or gumtree or amazon play HMV boarders or anything like that to buy thigns right...

I consider the above to be a grave infringement of my privacy thank you very much. I'm sure that in time they will be prevented by some government somewhere from using private data for their personal gain. I dont consider that my position requires me to wear a tin-foil hat, rather its based on fact.

I consdier you an insult to intelligence you are saying that you are actively going to a web page input details which you decide to do and then by you doign that it's an invasion of your privacy if they perform some fucntion which may benifit you direct or indirectly or at worst not at all....

that's what you call a breech of privacy....

you think that in a neo-conservative agenda ruled world that their commecial activites will be curtailed by a government. Have you a preceedent for such an action.

You also say you don't consider your position requires you to wear a tinfoil hat because you speeck fact... really, why is it then that in your factual account you seek to entirely ingore the context of the technology involved or indeed anything else which doesn't fit your dystopian wank fantasy of the big brother watching you paranoia....

 

[fractionMan]

Can we add that to Urban then?

lol

 

[purplex]

no shit sherlock next on 'it's the interweb: cars make the enviroment worse, smokers get cancer and of course our daily specail the sun will rise in the east tomorrow shocker..."

i mean really can you name me one permenantly solid revenue stream on the internet which isn't advertising based... in fact aside from product sales advertising is the only form of viable commerce until the life blogging communities start up in around 5 years... (and mirco formatting becomes the new world order) and even then guess what will be at the heart of the lifeblogging revolution... yup you guessed correctly the advertising model is still going to be as strong as ever it was.

and of coruse the larger firms are going to data stream information and group it according to profiled sets... for a start that's how business works, secondly it's how geeks work, thirdly it's how any decent usuable filing system works.

using the data of your searches to better improve the process or to justify their revenue stream by havig evidence of the impact of a brand campaing is what all market research companies have been doing for years...

just because the technology which is doing it is new doens't mean the method or the checks and balances are any different.

You are attempting to state this is a new more insidious methodology but it's the same methodology which has always been there...

besides I'll bet you don't use ebay or gumtree or amazon play HMV boarders or anything like that to buy thigns right...


I consdier you an insult to intelligence you are saying that you are actively going to a web page input details which you decide to do and then by you doign that it's an invasion of your privacy if they perform some fucntion which may benifit you direct or indirectly or at worst not at all....

that's what you call a breech of privacy....

you think that in a neo-conservative agenda ruled world that their commecial activites will be curtailed by a government. Have you a preceedent for such an action.

You also say you don't consider your position requires you to wear a tinfoil hat because you speeck fact... really, why is it then that in your factual account you seek to entirely ingore the context of the technology involved or indeed anything else which doesn't fit your dystopian wank fantasy of the big brother watching you paranoia....

Congratulations, youre both condescending and really poor at spelling

 

[Hocus Eye.]

My objection to google is that their business model totally depends upon shoving advertising in your face. Good for them maybe, but i personally dont want anyone to be making money off the back of my surfing habits, i object to their targeted manipulation. Its a total invasion of privacy. Whenever i do use their search engine i always delete their cookies straight after, the fact that they dress themselves up as this uber cool trendy company with ever changing "cuddly" graphics makes it all the more sinister IMO

You don't have to delete cookies if you use Scroogle which is a Google Scraper. It uses the Gooogle search engine but doesn't store you activity or produce adverts. It can be added to the Firefox search engine list if you use Firefox.

http://www.scroogle.org/cgi-bin/scraper.htm

 

[purplex]

In order for someone to use something for personal gain they need to a person...



Nope, though I do know several Google employees and have had several drinking sessions with them... I'm just amazed that someone can, in the overwhelming face of people correcting to you can stick to you misguided notions. And all of them are available if you use this free search engine thing...

And you're a new poster. Back in the day newbies used to respect people who had been around a bit... Oh well, must be the quickest new poster -> ignore list yet...



But it doesn't... In return for Tescos knowing I buy lots of cheese, I get £££ back. In return for looking at me searches, I get a free search-engine. Now you know I like cheese. Oh..! No...! U75 is a spyware website...!



So, because of your paranoia, you get charged extra in Tescos...



Then just don't use it.



Average joe in the street thinks Google works by magic...

Thats hilarious because we differ im supposed to defer to your greater post count. OK then, scientifically targeted advertising is great, privacy is rubbish, yeah.

Re: Tesco
The way i see it you are effectively being charged extra to not allow them to compile a dossier on your shopping habits, they have a database on every household in the country, cross-referenced with credit histories and what ever else they can dig up. And they make millions selling this data on to third parties. Check out last years guardian article on the tesco clubcard scheme for more details.

The way i see it privacy is being eroded from all angles, i dont accept that commercial entities should be allowed to keep data on us, and if they do, they certainly shouldnt be allowed to sell it or share it with anyone else. I think that oversteps the mark. You obviously dont care about these things. i do.

 

[jæd]

I wonder if we should tell the newbie/troll that Garfs dyslexic... But, based on his previous posts he won't listen. (Because who actually listens to people who have more knowledge than them these days...? )

 

[GarfieldLeChat]

I wonder if we should tell the newbie/troll that Garfs dyslexic... But, based on his previous posts he won't listen. (Because who actually listens to people who have more knowledge than them these days...? )

dyslexica was invented by google to up the revenue from fat finger searches you know... having it makes you a google fanboy

 

[GarfieldLeChat]

Congratulations, youre both condescending and really poor at spelling

equally you are stupid and paranoid.

sadly what ill's me i cannot correct by a search engine but your stupidity could be. Why is it that conspriscy nutcases are so terminally dense...

fact 1 you talk a lot of ill considered wank about a subject you patetenly know nothing about.

fact 2 your aggressive paranoid fantasies about otuside control show you up as having little control in your own life

fact 3 your mental illness doesn't make you right no matter how confrontational you are about it. People don't listen to ranting nutcases on the street anymore than they do in cyberspace.

fact 4 you have clearly never worked with or for google, their goal is to make money that's all

fact 5 you show a fundamental lack of understanding of how any serach engine works (heres the bit you are going to hate) they all use search data to pull back relevant information based on other peoples browsing habits. If they didn't they wouldn't be search engines but find nothing engines.

fact 6 all internet sites have to be access via an internet connected device whos operating system is built by for the large part faceless companies who make no bones about their lack of direct responsibilty to you...even linux is supported by those companies who again have no intrest in you personally... Novell and google are two large supporters of linux for example...

fact 7 a cookie however permenant isn't a spyware device. a basic lesson in programming will tell you this in 10 seconds.

fact 8 no market leading company will reveal it's trade secrets to a bunch of paranoid loonies on the net to curtail their fears because they know their rivals will leap on it and seize the information and attempt to beat them thus losing market position. Are you new to captialism or what?

and finally loonspud

to what end is it in your distorited mental aboration does all this paranoia lead?

 

[GarfieldLeChat]

Thats hilarious because we differ im supposed to defer to your greater post count. OK then, scientifically targeted advertising is great, privacy is rubbish, yeah.

why is it then that you freely gave away your personal information to get on to this site if it's so important to you.

undered european legislation all email traffic all internet traffic every site you've been too every mobile phone conversation has to be logged and recorded.

If you are that worried about it why the hell are you on the internet?

you clearly have a double standard which you do not enforce...

I'll bet you use facebook too.... ironically, a service set up and in part bankrolled by the marketing department of the CIA....

besides nutcase no one is saying what you have paraphrased in your looney head....

why is it that only you are so specail as to have seen the light and these others around you are sheeple.... or is it in reality that these days with the net messianic complexes become somewhat diluted... usually by the deluded...

Re: Tesco
The way i see it you are effectively being charged extra to not allow them to compile a dossier on your shopping habits, they have a database on every household in the country, cross-referenced with credit histories and what ever else they can dig up. And they make millions selling this data on to third parties. Check out last years guardian article on the tesco clubcard scheme for more details.

yawn boring this has been going on since tesco bought up the GUS archives back in the 90's have you been livign in a cave for 20 years?

Tesco also use rfids to mark and track their produce outside fo the stores in order to work out where you went next where their food went to see if they can more easily influence and market to you after point of purchase. as well as for stock taking.

The openly admit to it and cliam to know everyones shopping habits regardless of whether you shop with them or do not.

when you look at it something like £6 of every £10 is spent in tescos.

tbh tesco make me far more concerned about privacy than fuckign google.... but hey attack the wrong target you numpty...

The way i see it privacy is being eroded from all angles, i dont accept that commercial entities should be allowed to keep data on us, and if they do, they certainly shouldnt be allowed to sell it or share it with anyone else. I think that oversteps the mark. You obviously dont care about these things. i do.

the way i see it you don't actually have afucking clue when it comes to the modern world and are as a cave man thorwing rocks at the airplane flying over head no more likely to understand or influence it that it can destroy your sun god....

fucking techno neandathal that's all you are....

 

[bouncer_the_dog]

if everyone on this thread were kind enough to Digg my vid I'd have at least 11 Diggs... whats so difficult? Do I have to beg more? I can beg!

 

[Pingu]

tbh tesco make me far more concerned about privacy than fuckign google.... but hey attack the wrong target you numpty...

tesco are mere babes in arms in this compared to walmart... or harrahs (gaming company in the US).

walmart use near real time data feeds from their epos systems and reckon hat by the time a customer has left the carpark they have computed when they will next visit a superstore. vouchers and otehr incentives are then issued to make sure that that store is likely to be wallmart...

Harrahs customner scheme monitors the gambling patterns of their customers (voluntary scheme) and will intercede if various conditions are met. strangely this isnt to keep people playing at that point in time and will often suggest they take a break form it. they rely on that customer being happy and returning another day than just fleecing them tehre and then. obviously over a period of time they get fleeced more but the customer is fleeced at harrahs rather than another casino.


mobile phone companies do similar with their call packages using CDR data to analysie usage and locations in order to tailor call plans etc.

banks do it with loans\other offers.


everyone does it...

 

[Pingu]

if everyone on this thread were kind enough to Digg my vid I'd have at least 11 Diggs... whats so difficult? Do I have to beg more? I can beg!

i went to digg you but I am not a digg member so couldnt...


I am guessing btw that google arre not interested in the digg technology.. just the userbase...