Big Brother Google: Battelle Fights The Power

The Google F.O.G. persists! Its latest victim is Federated Media’s John Battelle. Battelle says:

“I've found myself more and more wary of doing things that I'd like to do with Google applications simply out of some primal, lizard brain fear of giving too much control of my data to one source. It's not that I don't trust Google, it's not that I don't like the applications, it's that I'm worried they might fall to some ill use, out of the control of the current brand as I've come to understand it today.”

Smart man, that Battelle. Google CEO Eric Schmidt has already made it exceedingly clear that he intends to have Google permeate every part of our lives. Giving over such trust to one entity, no matter how honorably the company comports itself, is simply too much to ask. There’s an “Outer Limits” episode I’m trying to think of that teaches this lesson perfectly, but I can’t think of it at the moment. For now, the fears of Battelle—a Silicon Valley veteran who has had many nice things to say about Google in the past—should be enough of a red flag for anyone.

Photo: Duncan Davidson