Computerworld just ran a good article on Google's new dashboard, which tells users what specific data Google has stored on their servers about them. Here's a quote:
"The company said the Dashboard is set up so that users can control the personal settings in each Google product that they use. Google said the Dashboard tool supports more than 20 products and services, including Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Web History, YouTube, Picasa, Talk, Reader, Alerts and Google Latitude."
The Computerworld article goes on to discuss what information is not displayed, such as data linked to your computer's IP address or information on where you have searched.
More information on how to use your Google Dashboard can be found at this unofficial Google blog website.
I still believe that we are heading in the direction I describe in my book Virtual Integrity chapters 9 & 10. It will be interesting to see how these services progress with Microsoft and Google (regarding the tracking and use of our information) in 2010.
When I spoke at a church in Sawyer, Michigan, yesterday, many Christian men expressed a strong interest in not seeing so many tempting ads and commercials. That is, why can't this personal data profile be used for good to allows us to surf our values in new ways. I still think the "surf your values" approach has legs and is an option that most consumers would appreciate. I describe this approach in detail in the book.
Of course, users also want transparency around the data that companies have on them. They also want to be able to control privacy settings. This new Google service seems like a nice step in the right direction.
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