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0 pointsdx0348y ago0 comments

I read recently that this is only the case if you don't pay for any of the products?

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4 comments · 2 top-level

hutzlibu8y ago· 2 in thread

(you mean pay with money and not only with your data, I assume)

dx034OP8y ago

I don't like the notion of paying with your data. You pay with your attention (ad views) and your money (purchases off ads). Data helps making this more efficient but you don't pay Google at all. I also don't pay a TV station that shows me ads or a free newspaper.

hutzlibu8y ago

And I don't like the notion of google offering free services, when they are a commercial company and not a charity.

And "helps making this more efficient" ... well, a tiny bit more. Knowledge is power. Google posesses a lot of knowledge.

But even "only the ads". There are worlds between showing someone random ads, or a highly tailored custom one, made out of all the online and much offline activity of that person.

And knowing allmost all about what a company is doing and controlling their communication is potential valuable in various ways as well.

wingworks8y ago

Yeah, personally the few times I've talked to google (once for a gift card issues and once for some phone help they've both been easy to contact and helpful.) I've never really tried to reach Google for help with Gmail so no idea how hard that is. But if I was desperate I would contact Google via one of the other contact points and get a redirect to the correct, hopefully, that would work.

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