Google Is Very Creepy [And That’s What Makes It So Awesome?]

4fcaeaaf838874222f7fa0d40206d0a5[1]The title belongs to writer Tony Bradley, not me, but I like the conclusion of his article in Forbes:

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that privacy is “dead”. Suffice it to say, our relationship with privacy has changed as a function of the benefits we can receive in exchange for that privacy. The reality is that you’re not completely giving up your privacy. Your neighbors, or the stranger you pass on the street won’t know anything about you. You’re choosing to enter into a mutually beneficial arrangement that exchanges personal information for services. You’re surrendering some of your privacy to Google, and you’re putting some trust in Google that it will both guard your personal information so your privacy isn’t truly violated, and that it will not do anything shady or unethical with your data itself.

That’s a lot of faith to put in Google–or any company for that matter. But, if you’re willing to take that leap of faith your technology can do amazing things and make your life simpler and more efficient. The more integrated you are in the Google ecosystem–the more Google services you use, and the more extensively you use them–the more value you will get from the relevant, context-aware features Google has put in place.

Source: Google Is Very Creepy, And That’s What Makes It So Awesome – Forbes

Me? I sold my soul to Google a long time ago. You, however, should think about the implications…

:-D

San Francisco throws a party for Golden Gate Bridge’s 75th birthday

Holy Kaw! I was there for the 50th — what a party THAT was. Get more images and video here: San Francisco throws a party for Golden Gate Bridge’s 75th birthday.

Here I am at the 50th back in the days when I lived within running distance of the bridge — as you can see, 25 years is a long time…

Why This Is A GREAT Time Of Year To Kick The B/S To The Curb!

Britney Spears

As we step into the New Year, let’s step into it with a clean slate. That is to say, the stories we’ve been telling ourselves about why we can’t have what we truly want – let’s kick those to the curb.

Let’s take a moment, pause, think and feel our way towards our greatest good and the greatest good for all. What if it were true that your biggest fear was actually total BS? What if it were true that the things that you think are your greatest weaknesses are actually what makes you strong? What if it were true that from this moment forward life would never have to be the same again?

What if it were as simple as simply changing your mind about what you want and what you know you deserve? What if we made it our intention to Love ourselves as much as we Love the thing we Love most in life? And then, what if we went about sharing that Love with others and found that where we thought we would die, be destroyed or that life would come to an end – we actually came to life?

My friend, I’m here to remind you – what was, is GONE and what will be is up to YOU! We get the privilege to decide our way in and out of circumstances! No dark night of the soul lasts forever; but what can last forever is if you get stuck in the story of being in the dark night.

So let us take a moment and think about what would bring us so much joy to create in 2012. Not just for ourselves, but also for others. How can we add value and Love to other people’s lives? What are our gifts? Are we expressing them? Or are we letting them lay dormant? Are we truly walking our Faith and our beliefs or are we letting fear get the best of us? Let’s look over who is in our lives and why? Is there anyone in our life who is there with a hook? Are all of our relationships clean? Are we entering into each relationship with integrity, truth and with the intention to serve? Or are we emotional vampires? Or do we have emotional vampires in our lives that we are allowing to drain our energy?

This is the time to make that change. Sure, we can make the change at any time, but with the symbolic power of the New Year and the collective focus on being brand new, the power of this time of year is huge.

So what changes would you like to make in 2012? And – is there anyone in your life you would like to let go of? And is there anyone in your life that you would like to spend more time with? Are you making the best of life or are you letting fear get the best of you? And what new decision would you like to make now?

Source: Why This Is A GREAT Time Of Year To Kick The B/S To The Curb!

Groupon logo.
Image via Wikipedia

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt has announced that the search giant will launch its Groupon competitor on Wednesday, starting with Portland.

The news that Google is getting into the daily deals space is not a surprise. Google attempted and failed to acquire Groupon for $6 billion last year. A few months later, Mashable exclusively learned that Google was developing a Groupon competitor called Google Offers.

At the D9 Conference in Palos Verdes, California, Schmidt and Stephanie Tilenius, Google’s VP of commerce, demonstrated the company’s new product. It’s just like Groupon in that it provides users a daily deal from “thousands of merchant partners.” Google showed off a deal for $10 worth of Floyd’s coffee for $3 on stage.

The big selling point for Google Offers is that it will integrate seamlessly with Google Wallet, the company’s NFC-based payment system launching this summer. Instead of printing out a coupon or barcode, completed offers are put into a user’s Google Wallet, where they are automatically saved and redeemable. Eventually they will be utilized automatically through NFC.

Google Offers will be available Wednesday in Portland and eventually will roll out to New York, San Francisco and other cities during the summer.

Bye, bye Groupon…

Image representing Google as depicted in Crunc...
Image via CrunchBase

OpenTable Seated 15.4 Million Diners in Q3 2010

Image representing OpenTable as depicted in Cr...
Image via CrunchBase

Online and mobile reservation service OpenTable released its third quarter financial results, which showed significant year-over-year gains in revenue, restaurant installations and total seated diners.

Most notably, the publicly traded company posted $24.5 million in total revenues for Q3 2010, a 44% increase over the same quarter last year.

OpenTable is also reporting a 52% increase in year-over-year diners with 15.4 seated diners for this past quarter. The company now says it has a client base of 13,025 restaurants in North America — a 26% increase since September 30, 2009.

Yeah. Hmmm. 15 million people were seated using social media? Now tell me again why restaurants should care about social… :-D

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