You seem angry
What has Google done to you? I don't understand why you're frothing at the mouth about this.
They use the info they gather to tailor advertising, and gather statistics. Both of these things are valuable to marketers. That's fine. Amazon and Google actually tailor advertisements to the point that I don't mind seeing them so much. In contrast, I can't stand commercials. I refuse to sit through someone barking about feminine hygiene, late-night chat lines, luxury cars, mac & cheese, and free credit reports. I use a DVR at home, and I channel surf in the car. I don't even have a radio in my house. However, when I see a list of "you may also like..." CDs, or advertisements for hobbiest-friendly PCB fabrication houses, I'm willing to take a glance.
Afterall, someone is paying for the free apps... Maps, Gmail, search, YouTube... all of it costs a ton of money. And I use all of those, regularly, so I'm willing to deal. I have no proof at this point that anyone is identifying me, personally, and has an interest in me, personally. Maybe I am an "individual" in a databank somewhere, but only for purposes of associating unique demographics. Not with interest in my identity so much. Why would anyone care? Are there Google engineers hoping to become just like me? I don't think so. I'm not quite that interesting. They're probably paid better, too.
Furthermore, I don't get dead trees in my mailbox, I don't get spam in my inbox. Just ads, online. I got more intrusive targeted marketing by going to college and buying a house than I ever did signing up for a Google account.
So when they cross the line, and I feel them breathing down my neck.. or I feel they are taking more than they are giving.. then I will say "woah." I don't feel this makes me (or anyone else) a sheep, a lemming, or a sucker. It's a trade -- information for services. A willing and informed trade.
