Are you scared of the government snooping around in your personal life and your phone records? While that might be something to be afraid of, a much bigger danger is looming around the corner in your web browser. If you are using Google as your favorite search engine you need to be aware of what Google is having in store for you.

Google’s ambition to maximise the personal information it holds on users is so great that the search engine envisages a day when it can tell people what jobs to take and how they might spend their days off.

Eric Schmidt, Google’s chief executive, said gathering more personal data was a key way for Google to expand and the company believes that is the logical extension of its stated mission to organise the world’s information.

Asked how Google might look in five years’ time, Mr Schmidt said: “We are very early in the total information we have within Google. The algorithms will get better and we will get better at personalisation.

“The goal is to enable Google users to be able to ask the question such as ‘What shall I do tomorrow?’ and ‘What job shall I take?’”

Google already keeps track of every single search you do. If you use Gmail or the Google Toolbar they already know a lot about your web behavior and which websites you have been to. If you customize “your” Google homepage with local news and news about stuff you are interested in, you are giving them even more personal information. No matter where you touch Google’s system anywhere (Adwords, Adsense, GMail, iGoogle, Google Toolbar, Google Reader, Blogger, Google Maps, Google personalised search, Google News, and …. you leave a data trail for Google that when put together in the end creates a pretty detailed report about you.

Now according to Google CEO Eric Schmidt iGoogle will be the main portal they will use to collect a lot of personal data about you.

He said Google’s newly relaunched iGoogle service, which allows users to personalise their own Google search page and publish their own content, would be a key feature.

Do you really want a search engine become so powerful to tell you what job to take? What if you apply for a job somewhere and Google decided to sell your personal data profile? The possible employer orders the report and found out you have been visiting websites and places he consideres inappropriate (Example: you’re Republican and he is a Democrat). Boom, you are not getting the job even if you are the most qualified candidate. Nobody can guarantee what Google will do with the data. What if the government requires access to your Google profile and fights its ways through court and gains permission to see your Google profile? There is much more to this than not getting a specific job, but the power Google would gain is significant. If you are in your 20s and when 40 you decide to run for presidency, guess who has a detailed profile about ready sitting there? Google! Anything you do online can be tracked. Anything you do somewhere within the Google “Arena” will one day become connected and could be used against you. Say “Hello” to Big Brother.

Source: Financial Times