A while back, Ryan posted a poll at Performancing asking Are You Afraid of Google? If you are afraid, you might want to check out InsideCRM’s Tinfoil Hat Toolbox of 100 tips to protect your sites from the Borg Google. This article is relevant to those of you with multiple sites, or if you’re planning to go that way. But even if you’re a blogger with just one site, you might want to have a look, to learn how much Google already knows about you. There are also some good tips about what not to do if you are expanding your web properties.
Now, Google’s logo was recently declared the most recognizable global brand. That’s not hard to achieve, what with their search market share. But did you know what else Larry Page and Sergey Brin’s baby has been up to? They’ve invested in solar power (under their philanthropic branch), electrical grids (for their own purposes), and they’re now into EMR (Electronic Medical Records). They intend to index participating patients medical records and make them available from anywhere those people can get Internet access.
Then again, Google has openly stated that they intend to index the Earth’s information, no matter how long it takes. (I mean, “googol” is a type of “infinity”, so this goal isn’t surprising.) It looks like they’re on their way. Conspiracy theorists are probably wetting their beds like they did as kids, seeing bogeys in the dark corners of their electronic homes. Should you be scared, too, or do you think Google is harmless?