On Tue, Feb 16, 2010 at 7:44 PM, Jean Burgess <je.burgess@qut.edu.au> wrote:
I understand that there is actually no business case for blanket privacy in the free-to-use, advertising-supported business model that drives Google, Facebook, and Twitter (indirectly), but I'm not sure there isn't a business model (where "business model" might or might not include a profit motive) that could work quite well and treat user communities with more respect - including respect for the knowledge and expertise they have developed through their work as users.
Just to comment on the "business case" (especially the business case for the way they 'decided' to test audience responses): I reckon it will take a while until Google & their competitors realize HOW MUCH damage Google have done to their reputation. It's not just "normal" internet users that got concerned about the (ab)use of their data, it also includes a lot of hardcore geeks that are really pissed off. Best regards christopher -- Dr. Christopher Lueg Professor of Computing University of Tasmania Private Bag 100 Hobart TAS 7001, Australia cplueg@realworldmatters.net http://www.realworldmatters.net CRICOS Provider Code: 00586B