to google or not to google?

I just stopped having Google as my preferred search engine, and switched to Ask. Why? Oh, for several reasons. One being that Google doesn't find the content I search for anymore. The once so true "I'm feeling lucky"-button is nothing more than a bad joke today. If you ask yourself, when was the last time the "I'm feeling lucky"-button took you straight to the page you wanted, I'm sure you will agree. I find that ask.com finds content a lot better.

Another thing is the targeted commercials that Google puts up on every site you visit. When I saw the ads corresponding completely with my last string of Google-searches, I got a little scared. In Denmark you are not allowed to gain access to people’s public library loan-history, because this is considered sensitive material. In the wrong hands, such material can be used for targeted persecution.

Persecution? Who would be persecuted? Well, Google’s happy helping hand in net censorship in China, should give a pointer. What would be the reason for Google’s controversial decision to help the government of China in censoring the net, other than market-cut and ultimately money?

Is it so far fetched that user-profiling could be used to help China in hunting system dissidents? Under cooperate American law no single person would be to blame, should Google decide to help China in this way. In fact the board of directors would have done their duty, by maximizing the share return. The only thing keeping this from happening is public relations, and the combined moral standards of Google itself.

Google is selling your internet habits to the highest bidder. They know your wants, as well as if you have been naughty or nice, better than Santa. This has driven me to copy my links from Google, and paste them in a new browser session, to avoid profiling. I never link out from Google. Paranoid, I know, but please consider your standing towards public libraries selling your loan-history to the highest bidder.

So what happened? My thesis is that money happened. Google was all of a sudden estimated as one of the world’s most valuable company, even though they had no production. This is due to data mining and logging of user habits. The perceived net worth, was in potential targeted marketing, and demographic profiling. Once you get money for your potential, you will have to produce.

This is a story we've heard before. Alta-Vista did the same thing, but with banner commercials, and selling search-ratings, driving their waste user base away. Hot-bot got beaten by Google's superior search routine. Now the question is: Is ask.com better at searching than Google? You be the judge.