Is it weird that I trust Google more than MySpace and Facebook? They're all website phenomena that make money off of my participation. They all store too much of my private information and no doubt use it for some type of power, profit, and/or political gain. But for some reason, I hold a bit more trust and liking for Google. So much so that I have decided to delete (or at least attempt to - its not easy) my Facebook page, and start blogging here via Google, not MySpace.
I learned this weekend, at the National Conference for Media Reform, that Google is now worth more than General Electric, Ford Motors, and Coca Cola combined. Thats crazy. And to think - it all supposedly started in a basement. But whats crazier is that the popular social networking site, Facebook, not only provides my information to its numerous online partners (something that in a way Google also does), but now also alerts all of my friends when I purchase something on one of those partner's sites. Back before I learned of the conservative politics that Blockbuster plays, I used their online movie rental service. One day, after I'd added a new title to my movie queue, I saw a notice at the bottom of the screen that says "Sara has just added High Fidelity to her Blockbuster Queue". WTF? Sure, High Fidelity is no big deal, but what about the fact that I tend to rent it often - maybe so often that its a mystery why I don't just own a copy. Suddenly my crush on John Cusack is no longer my secret indulgence, its now an obsession seen by all 183 of my friends. Hmmm... something seems wrong here.
Waaaaiiiittt a minute - now, that is indeed an annoying "feature" (that I have since learned can be turned off), but is it really reason enough to attempt to write off Facebook? No, no, I agree - that probably isn't enough for me to say goodbye either. However, the following is.
Upon more investigation of the board members of Facebook (there are only 3, despite the estimated value of $15 billion), I found that at least two of the three board members participate and promote ideas that directly contradict my own. After graduating from Stanford (where he founded a rightwing journal that is still up and running some 20 years later), board member Peter Thiel wrote a book in 1988 called the Diversity Myth in which he argued that the idea of multiculturism prohibits individual freedoms. I don't know about you, but that seems to be the EXACT opposite of what I think multiculturism does. Additionally, he is a member of Vanguard.org, an ultra conservative website organization that seems to, from what I gather, have been set up solely to take down Moveon.org (one of my favorite organizations working toward a progressive future). Jim Breyer, the other board member that I am deeply suspicious of, sits on the board of none other than Wal-Mart. I find it hard to believe that the money Theil and Breyer are making off of my personal information and record of web activity isn't somehow, somewhere being poured into neoconservative organizations that are working against everything I am working toward.
My distrust with MySpace is a bit less focused on the security and privacy issue, and more on an overall question of whether or not I really want to be supporting the person who now owns it. Two years ago, media mogul, Rupert Murdoch, added MySpace to his fast-growing collection of media sources. Murdoch owns News Corporation, the entity that most notoriously embodies all Fox programming, including Fox News. While Fox News constitutes as "fair and balanced" to most of my family, to me it does not. Additionally, Murdoch sits on the board of directors for Philip Morris, which reportedly donated $2.9 Billion to the good ol' George Dubyah campaign in 2000. I'd say Mr. Murdoch and I share a difference in tastes.
So anyway - there are my reasons for making the switch. I’ve transferred my blogs from MySpace to here and will from here on out be entering random thoughts here.... that is, until I learn something about Google that will cause the jaw to drop, hand to go to mouth, and fingers to start typing a Google farewell.
