Idea #3: Google People Search – Convenient or Just Plain Creepy?
by Steven Rossi on April 3, 2009 in Technology
This is part 3 of 3 in a series on ideas to create or improve web and desktop applications. See also ideas 1 and 2: “Idea #1: Font Scheme Generator” and “Idea #2: Two iTunes Features That Should Have Been There a While Ago“
A few weeks ago, I Googled my name, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I appeared somewhat near the top of the results. Unfortunately, I realized that lots of other people have the name Steven Rossi. This gave me an idea: what if Google (or anyone, I suppose, but it would be easiest for Google) developed a tool to categorize search results by people. This tool would be simple; Google could apply a system like the recently-reviewed-by-TechCrunch MyID.is which validates people’s identities based on real-world data to catalog individual people, who could then identify all content related to them that appears in Google’s search results. Of course this system would be moderated by peers and paid employees, and I think it could be fairly secure if certain algorithms and guidelines were put in place.
It may sound weird that I suggest Google do this, but if you think about it, it makes a good deal of sense. To try to convince people to submit their information to a little-known 3rd party would be quite an undertaking, but since Google already knows everything about you, what could this hurt? This service would simply gather all of your online activity into one location which would be searchable and editable. And yes, I recognize fears of loss of privacy in that statement, but if you’re concerned about people stalking you based on the information found through this method, you’ve probably got too much information online already. Google’s People Search would be helpful reference to one’s online activity, and it would most certainly create more interaction within search in general. Tell me your thoughts on this idea.
by Idea #2: Two iTunes Features That Should Have Been There a While Ago | LetsMoveToTheMoon
On April 3, 2009 at 9:19 pm
[...] This is part 2 of 3 in a series on ideas to create or improve web and desktop applications. See also parts 1 and 3: “Idea #1: Font Scheme Generator” and “Google People Search – Convenient or Just Plain Creepy?“ [...]
by Idea #1: Font Scheme Generator | LetsMoveToTheMoon
On April 3, 2009 at 9:34 pm
[...] This is part 1 of 3 in a series on ideas to create or improve web and desktop applications. See also parts 2 and 3: “Idea #2: Two iTunes Features That Should Have Been There a While Ago” and “Idea #3: Google People Search – Convenient or Just Plain Creepy?“ [...]