What does Google know about me?

Awfully lot, I imagine.

Let's see -- I started on Google search. I jumped on Gmail -- the first time I created an account. I used Google news -- though I hated their personalized news stuff. And since I was always logged on in Gmail, I couldn't really turn off this personalization. Then Google bought Blogger -- the site that hosts this blog -- and went on to buy yet more stuff (You tube for one) where I may have logged in. Everywhere I turned soon, Google login was following me. And then they bought doubleclick. Now, add the two together, that covers probably an incredible amount of information about me being tracked by them over time.

In general, I've loved Google products -- just like most of the people I know. Even then, it is a little unsettling to know that people with the smartest data mining algorithms are going to have a lot of data about me to play around with.

So, what's the solution? For one, I've blocked Google.com cookies. I use Apple's iChat if I need to use Google talk (so I don't have to have Gmail in the browser). I use a POP client to get my Gmail. This also, unfortunately means I can't login to Blogger and Adsense on the same machine -- or at least that browser. So I sometimes fire up Safari if I do have the urge to write a blog, and shut it down once I am done.

On a different, unrelated note, Jambool's releasing updates to its site. If you have an account, do come back and check it out!