Google Street View, Freedom From Unauthorized Intrusion ( Merriam Webster, 2014 )

Sergey Brin noted, “Some say Google is God. Others say Google is Satan. But if they think Google is too powerful, remember that with search engines, unlike other companies, all it takes is a single click to go to another search engine.” Nicholas Carr’s essay challenges this assertion. Nicholas Carr believes even though there are multiple search engines, “the faster we surf across the Web-the more links we click and pages we view-the more opportunities Google and other companies gain to collect information about us and to feed us advertisements.” This topic elicits such strong responses because technology is a part of our everyday lives. Technology is only becoming more advanced and will continue to be a source of debate for all who use it.

Eric Schmidt, the chairman of Google said, “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.” The quote shows modern society well. Living in 21th century is like living in a glass box. We are living in society that needs only a few clicks to get information of others.

Nicholas Carr, posed the question, “Is Google making us stupid”, and asks his readers to give it some thought. The article made suggestions such as the internet changing the way the mind works and that the internet has negative consequences on the human brain. Carr wants everyone to be cautious of the internet because of the many different ways it has affected and will continue to affect the way we think. When I think about this article, I can see the many different tactics Carr used, such as fact vs fiction, cause and effect, and the clearly stated argument.

Maps have been a part of existence and an easy way to communicate for a very long time, and being able to see a Google Earth image of my house is just part of the mapping and development of our increasing spatial awareness. It is not as if they could Google my house and see the layout, if I am home, my daily schedule/routine, how many people reside there, household banking records, etc., unless they are super stalkers in which case I have larger issues that someone looking at images of my house. I think most people would agree that they enjoy instant access to information, maps, and images, as well as the ever evolving uses of technology today regardless of the personal information out there and that they would not trade no technology for complete security of their information. It is just up to us to protect ourselves as best as we can, but if someone figured out where I live and wanted to stop by I would definitely not mind the face-to-face

of “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” published in 2008 in the Atlantic, believes that the internet is “tinkering with our brains” and has even admitted to seeing changes within himself. Carr created this article to inform people about how societies ability to read and comprehend information is being changed or harmed by the use of the internet. Carr did have some errors such as structural problems with his thesis and also struggled with an informal writing style. Despite some of these errors, Carr’s use of rhetorical techniques such as ethos, pathos, logos, and ample amount of personal and factual information along with the emotional touches, allows him to develop a strong persuasive argument.

The debate over the internet's influence on human minds has been long running. Nicholas Carr's "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" article successfully defends both opinions on this issue. He has plenty of history on the topic and has seen much success in previous works. Carr uses his past to impact the present issue society is challenged with every day. With his background on the subject, Carr is able to establish credibility as a speaker before he reasons for both sides of the debate successfully.

One of the most talked about points with Google Glass is privacy, which relates heavily to security, both on a

21st century man has pondered in thought on a very important question that unconsciously affects their lives at every moment: Is the Internet our master, or a simple tool that we control? To the optimist, this very question is a complete joke. In their eyes, how can such a sweet, innocent tool of exploring specific evidence, paying one’s bill, and social networking become our master when we, as humans, created its very existence? To the skeptics, this question HAS to be answered. To them, it’s essential that we as a collective unit decide if the internet is controlling us so we can abandon it and have our mental capacities cleared up from

With this becoming public knowledge many people became enraged at google. Many saying that this was a way for the government to spy on their citizens. The idea of the government watching scares a lot of

In 2007, Google’s controversy regarding Street View raised privacy and security concerns. Street View allows for high-resolution photos enabling you to explore 360-degree panoramic, street-level imagery of places once you type in the correct address. This could range from vehicle license plates, properties, people doing mundane activities, as well as people in compromising or out-of-context situations. And since Google’s

Project Shield, Google's effort to protect attacks on news and human rights websites is going public. When released a couple years ago, Project Shield was limited to a team of testers. Now, it will be opened up to the world's news sources in order to prevent censorship. Privacy is all the rage these days, with companies like Apple, Facebook and Yahoo fighting pressure from the government. The Beastie Boys said it best. You have got to fight for your right to party. Except change party to privacy. Doesn't quite roll off the tongue but you get the point.

Though Google seemed to promote free-thinking and free speech on one hand, they were censoring and filtering with the other. Google lost credibility with the public, thus tarnishing its public image and “loosing 1% of the U.S. market in one month,” as reported in The Business. (2006, Aug) “Image credibility is based on the constituency’s perception of the organization” (Argenti, 2009, p.39). When the public image of a company has been compromised it “can make a huge difference in determining the success or failure of the organization” (Argenti, 2009, p. 40). When the public looses confidence in a company and what they stand for, they no longer wish to use its product. In response, executives at Google attempted to convince the public that they could handle the balancing act between censorship and providing information, and gain back public trust and confidence.

services. Official Google Privacy policy states: “When you use Google services, you trust us with your information.”. (Google) Google privacy policy is built on the opt-out requirement and they influence their customer to implicitly trust it with their personal data. Google claims in their mission statement that “Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful” (Google Inc.) to create a perception of a trustworthy and ethical company who should be trusted to do the right thing for their customer.

Google is the most popular search engine that the world uses on an everyday basis. Sergey Brin and Larry Page created Google in 1998. What started out to be a small search engine and ranking system are now the worlds most profitable Internet companies of our time. Google has created many products today that have changed the world of technology, products such as Google+, YouTube, Android, Motorola Mobility, the Nexus 7 tablet computer, Google Wallet, and Google Glass (p.470). Google is qualified as one of the best companies to work for (p.464.) The issue we are facing today is the privacy policy

Google has made an effort on making a new device called Google Glass, which is innovative device that has people visioning ways to enhance the product by communicating with people but not all are convinced due to the invasive privacy by the documentation of using video recordings at anytime hands free and the safety and health of yourself and your surroundings. It’s also a tool to reduce crime with first person view.