Distrust Google? Chances Are You’re Still Using It
- Posted on March 9, 2012 at 3:56pm by
Liz Klimas
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Google still maintains top spot as most popular search engine.
SAN FRANCISCO (The Blaze/AP) — In the last few months, the Blaze has reported about how Google has come under fire for its new privacy policy, which launched earlier this month. Even still, Google remains everyone’s favorite search engine — almost.
A survey of released Friday by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found 83 percent of U.S. search engine users rated Google as their preferred search engine. That was up from 47 percent in 2004, the last time that Pew gauged people’s attitudes about Internet search engines.
Yahoo’s search engine ranked a distant second at 6 percent, according to the latest numbers, down from 26 percent in 2004.
Google Inc. has turned its dominant position in Internet search into a gold mine. The company’s Internet search engine is the hub of an advertising system that generated $36.5 billion in revenue last year — up from $3 billion in 2004.
But the Pew findings also indicate Google may be risking its popularity by trying to learn more about users in a quest to sell more advertising.
Nearly three-fourths of search engine users said they don’t want search engines to sift through their personal information to deliver results tailored to their individual interests. Google has been doing this more frequently since January when its search engine began to include personal information pulled from Google’s social networking service, Plus.
More than two-thirds said they don‘t want to be targeted by customized ads because they don’t want their Web surfing activities to be tracked and analyzed.
Google might be vulnerable to a backlash if its major rivals, including Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Facebook Inc., didn’t also collect personal information to help them aim their ads at the right audiences.
Like its rivals, Google believes a well-placed ad is appreciated by most Web surfers. To gain a better grasp on people’s preferences, Google this month overhauled its privacy policy to enable the company to compile individual dossiers on its logged-in users’ activities on more than 60 different services, including Internet search.
Pew took its survey of 2,253 adults, including 1,729 Internet users, before the March 1 revision to Google’s privacy policy, but mostly after the company had announced its changes. The poll spanned Jan. 20 through Feb. 19. The changes were announced Jan. 24. The results based on Internet users have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points
Google and its rivals say they offer a variety of tools to protect their privacy, including ways to erase their search histories. But only 38 percent of Internet users are aware of these privacy-protection options, Pew found.
Whatever privacy fears might be nagging them, most people remain comfortable using search engines. Pew found 59 percent of online Americans use a search engine at least once day, up from 29 percent in 2004.
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COFemale
Posted on March 10, 2012 at 1:59amI don’t watch commercials on TV why the hell would I want to see them on my web page. I never shop from those links, you are more likely to get a virus. Google is the biggest perp for getting viruses. If you look at the number of security breaches it allows, you’d drop them like a hot potato. The only thing I watch are You Tube video’s but they are selective.
Report Post »Razorhunters
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 8:30pmwhat ads?
Report Post »TJexcite
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 5:09pmAll one has to realize is the Google is a computer program. There is no man behind the curtain just software. It would take several thousand lifetimes for a person to mine the information for anything useful just to send you an ad that your ad blocker just blocks anyways.
They could solve the unemployment situation if Google just hired a few million people to go though each others search queries and Gmail to know who to round up for the camps.
For the record I got to this post from Google Reader.
Report Post »korbin
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 5:02pmStaetpage.com Been using like a champ for a while, they act as a middle man using google and others so your ip is not traced. oathkeepers.org
Report Post »korbin
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 5:03pmDo your party to save our individual liberties, oathkeepers.org
Report Post »JEANNIEMAC
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 5:21pmIsn’t it startpage.?
Report Post »korbin
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 5:28pmYep the blaze loves to “re arrange” my words. I can spell check all day long and once it posts it never fails.
Report Post »Shotgun_Melee
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 4:53pm“Pew took its survey of 2,253 adults, including 1,729 Internet users…”
————————————————————————————————————————
The question is this: Where did Pew find over 500 people who don’t use the Internet?
Report Post »123456beatriz
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 4:46pmWake up America!. Someone must to build another search engine the best. I try to use Altavista.com.
Report Post »Also, when I am using youtube and I try to post my opinion, Google says “Pending Approval” and never publish any post, so….“free speech” ja!, hypocrites! False “Prophets” and SELFIH! GREEDY!
korbin
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 5:04pmTry startpage then sign up and become an oathkeeper.org
Report Post »qpwillie
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 5:05pmThe person who owns the YouTube channel has the option to require approval for comments or not. It’s up to each registered user on their channel.
Report Post »Beckofile
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 5:31pmDuck Duck Go is just a search field and no cookies or history recorded.
Report Post »lcltcc
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 4:44pmThe only thing I use Google for is maps, I use DuckDuckGo with Firefox to search, it is SSL and blocks cookies, you can also use the tool menu on Firefox to set your session to inPrivate browsing. You can also do this through Tool/Options/privacy.
Report Post »KingCanon
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 4:41pmCould someone list alternatives?
Report Post »Bing has no personality, no appeal at all
for me.
qpwillie
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 4:51pmWhat you consider “personality’ is probably the same things that I consider clutter. All I want is a search field to type my search terms in and a submit button to find what I’m looking for. Not a bunch of inline frames to take up my time loading the page.
Report Post »pamela kay
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 5:20pmThe problem is that if we try to use other search engines we are considered to be terrorist if we try to get more privacy. No matter what we do they have us by the seat of our pants. They have ways around everything.
Report Post »USAMEDIC3008
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 4:34pmdont know if its good or bad
Report Post »But I use Norton Safe Search
I may say something on here that may come back
to bite me
I dont put any thing in this box I wouldnt put in the news paper.
I did some work back in early 70s for the Gov.(comunications)
I dont talk much on tellie either.If you watched 2001 space odd.
You know they can read lips
FedUpAlready
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 4:31pmThe problem with collecting this type of data. is that Google is assuming if your looking at something it necessarily pertains to you. My step daughter has an array of medical problems, and, has never learned the computer, so I will often go to Web MD or search out info for her. If google assumes I’m looking for myself, I’m afraid it will effect my insurance rates, etc. It’s bad enough My E-mail junk folder is being filled with ads for male enhancement, and horny house wife ads, and MSN knows it’s junk, and, still send them when I say delete and block. Not to mention they’re giving info that could be used by identity thieves to commit crime.
Report Post »qpwillie
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 4:28pmI use ixquick as my primary search engine. I do still use YouTube though.
Report Post »bullcrapbuster
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 4:55pmI also use ixquick.
Report Post »PrivateSectorContractor
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 4:19pmThere are no free lunches!
Report Post »USAMEDIC3008
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 4:35pmNot even that pink stuffffffffff…
Report Post »MrMagoo
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 4:16pmGoogle has got me what I wanted.Research.I’ve always found what I need.So far.
Report Post »HMNSC
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 4:15pmThe Blaze also pulls your history to tailor ads to you….
Report Post »Locked
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 4:31pmYes indeed… unless other people keep getting ads for a game called “Rift”? I wonder if I’m not the only one…
Report Post »Beckofile
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 5:34pmso does every credit card company. Since they know email they get you to log on to something then cookies and they can feed ads based on your spending habits. You think it is your search engine but it is your credit card company.
Report Post »lstoddard004
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 4:14pmIn order to operate my Sprint Samsung phone, I am required to have a Gmail account through Google. Other than that, I do not use them as my primary search engine. I am highly suspicious of them.
Report Post »Apple Bite
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 4:10pmUsing Bing. Thank you…
Report Post »Locked
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 4:30pmBing is absolutely terrible… or at least it was when it first launched. It couldn’t find anything.
I use Google. I simply clear my cache and cookies after every session, and never log in. Also use a variety of spyware and ad-blockers. Voila! Never had an issue, and get great search results.
Report Post »LeadNotFollow
Posted on March 9, 2012 at 4:08pm…
Report Post »Google is in bed with Obama.