Google-Should we be concerned?

Yesterday I attended an event called "Texas Get Your Business Online" run by Google, Intuit and various other Small Business agencies and Chambers of Commerce. It was AMAZING. It was almost like a conference that I had paid for, except it was free and I could just walk right in. They gave me a bag full of information (no ads that I just had to throw away) and had bins with pens that say Google for the taking. They had candy in the Google colors, neon Google lights, cups in the Google colors and free snacks from all sorts of local companies that are or were small businesses.

I attended two Powerpoint sessions that talked about how to get your business online and about Adwords and Google Place. Then many people went to learn how to create their own website with free hosting from Intuit for a year and a domain name.

It was really wonderful. I also met a few people and learned a lot that will help me get started in my new business I'm Not A Geek.com.

Then this morning I got up and read an article in the Austin American Statesman about the dangers of the amount of information being collected on each click in a Google Search. Since I had heard it all yesterday from the point of view of the business it was interesting to hear it from the point of view of a person browsing the internet. http://www.statesman.com/life/what-do-you-share-when-you-click-on-1629154.html

I am still not concerned. I have decided that just about anything anyone wants to know about me can be found out, mostly in ways I had never thought of. For me there is more value in being findable than in being hidden. Maybe I am an idealist. What do you think?

This got me writing an article for my business blog on Cookies http://helpimnotageek.blogspot.com.