Scroogled (2007) (opens in new tab)

(scroogle.org)

235 pointsinfocaptor14y ago80 comments

80 comments

27 comments · 12 top-level

brokentone14y ago· 5 in thread

If 1984 were written today, I believe it would read a lot like this. However this one reads remarkably like reality. Good story Mr. Doctorow.

dennisgorelik14y ago

Reality?

Since when have government started using information technology efficiently?

angelbob14y ago

They haven't. But they do leverage civilian companies who do - for instance, the credit bureaus routinely do what turns out to be police or intelligence surveillance, without specifically meaning to.

If they could make Google do the same, they would.

2 more replies

rickmb14y ago

Don't confuse the public services (including internal IT used for public services) with the IT governments use to secure their power.

1 more reply

brokentone14y ago

This is true, what we know of the government's use of technology is rather inefficient, but it misses the point. Inefficient does not equal non-invasive. My takeaways from both, 1984 and this article, were not that of an efficient government, but a totalitarian government. Further, I'm less concerned about the things we know about than the things we don't.

Here is one of the edges of reality I'm concerned about (specifically their interaction with AT&T): https://www.eff.org/issues/nsa-spying

1 more reply

mahyarm14y ago

What you are seeing is not something specific to their use of IT, but almost all of their actions that are hampered by politics.

simonw14y ago· 4 in thread

You can tell this is from 2007 because Google employees are obsessing about what Yahoo! are doing. Today, it would be Facebook.

icebraining14y ago

Or because Google did move out of mainland China and stopped censoring searches in 2010.

RyanMcGreal14y ago

This is an important reminder that events do not progress in a straight line.

2 more replies

philwelch14y ago

Also because it's Google that's evil, and not Facebook. Everyone worried about online privacy seems to have completely forgotten about Google since Facebook exploded.

rickmb14y ago

Only for values of "everybody" that don't include Europe.

jcr14y ago· 2 in thread

Of course, the potential (but improbable) implications of up-voting this story should not be lost on anyone.

icebraining14y ago

Or reading it on a Google Chrome browser...

Vivtek14y ago

D'oh! Might as well upvote, then - in for a penny, in for a pound.

notaddicted14y ago· 2 in thread

I guess this is minor, but why does it say 1997 in the title? I can't find the year anywhere in the story or in these comments.

code_duck14y ago

The top line in the article is "( This short story is from the October 2007 issue of Radar magazine. )".

1997 would make Cory Doctorow amazingly prescient, as Google was only a research project and not officially a company at that time.

rmc14y ago

And the DHS didnt exist

user2414y ago· 2 in thread

reminds me of the nine billion names of God: http://365tomorrows.com/09/12/the-nine-billion-names-of-god/

adaml_62314y ago

May I point out this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nine_Billion_Names_of_God

Nothing to do with Google and I hope that all that are interested can find a copy of the original story which I remember quite well.... even though according to that wiki article it hasn't been republished in the last 45 years.

gue5t14y ago

http://downlode.org/Etext/nine_billion_names_of_god.html

arethuza14y ago

This story is also included in the excellent "With a Little Help" collection:

http://craphound.com/walh/

The free audio versions of the stories are particularly good.

rmccue14y ago

I like the reference to China, considering Google recently backing out of there due to these sorts of reasons. Makes me wonder if they'd ever consider doing the same in one of their key markets, such as the US.

chrislomax14y ago

I didn't read the short story line at the top there, I actually thought this was a real account then. Coming from the UK none of this applies to the UK so I wouldn't have heard about this initiative if any of it was true.

Good story and could quite easily be true

icebraining14y ago

Of course, the irony of this being hosted on that site is that using Scroogle primarily would result on a suspiciously light Google profile, which would most definitively get yourself marked for further investigation. After all, that's the corollary to "if you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to hide".

pothibo14y ago

I couldn't help myself from drawing subtile comparison with 1984. And I loved it.

kevinalexbrown14y ago

Particularly the bit about probable cause from statistical anomalies. Oh, we don't indiscriminately go through your records, unless you use TOR, in which case what are you hiding?

gwern14y ago

The suicide bit is cute. Indeed.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

80 comments

27 comments · 12 top-level

brokentone14y ago· 5 in thread

If 1984 were written today, I believe it would read a lot like this. However this one reads remarkably like reality. Good story Mr. Doctorow.

dennisgorelik14y ago

Reality?

Since when have government started using information technology efficiently?

angelbob14y ago

They haven't. But they do leverage civilian companies who do - for instance, the credit bureaus routinely do what turns out to be police or intelligence surveillance, without specifically meaning to.

If they could make Google do the same, they would.

2 more replies

rickmb14y ago

Don't confuse the public services (including internal IT used for public services) with the IT governments use to secure their power.

1 more reply

brokentone14y ago

Here is one of the edges of reality I'm concerned about (specifically their interaction with AT&T): https://www.eff.org/issues/nsa-spying

1 more reply

mahyarm14y ago

What you are seeing is not something specific to their use of IT, but almost all of their actions that are hampered by politics.

simonw14y ago· 4 in thread

You can tell this is from 2007 because Google employees are obsessing about what Yahoo! are doing. Today, it would be Facebook.

icebraining14y ago

Or because Google did move out of mainland China and stopped censoring searches in 2010.

RyanMcGreal14y ago

This is an important reminder that events do not progress in a straight line.

2 more replies

philwelch14y ago

Also because it's Google that's evil, and not Facebook. Everyone worried about online privacy seems to have completely forgotten about Google since Facebook exploded.

rickmb14y ago

Only for values of "everybody" that don't include Europe.

jcr14y ago· 2 in thread

Of course, the potential (but improbable) implications of up-voting this story should not be lost on anyone.

icebraining14y ago

Or reading it on a Google Chrome browser...

Vivtek14y ago

D'oh! Might as well upvote, then - in for a penny, in for a pound.

notaddicted14y ago· 2 in thread

I guess this is minor, but why does it say 1997 in the title? I can't find the year anywhere in the story or in these comments.

code_duck14y ago

The top line in the article is "( This short story is from the October 2007 issue of Radar magazine. )".

1997 would make Cory Doctorow amazingly prescient, as Google was only a research project and not officially a company at that time.

rmc14y ago

And the DHS didnt exist

user2414y ago· 2 in thread

reminds me of the nine billion names of God: http://365tomorrows.com/09/12/the-nine-billion-names-of-god/

adaml_62314y ago

May I point out this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nine_Billion_Names_of_God

gue5t14y ago

http://downlode.org/Etext/nine_billion_names_of_god.html

arethuza14y ago

This story is also included in the excellent "With a Little Help" collection:

http://craphound.com/walh/

The free audio versions of the stories are particularly good.

rmccue14y ago

chrislomax14y ago

Good story and could quite easily be true

icebraining14y ago

pothibo14y ago

I couldn't help myself from drawing subtile comparison with 1984. And I loved it.

kevinalexbrown14y ago

Particularly the bit about probable cause from statistical anomalies. Oh, we don't indiscriminately go through your records, unless you use TOR, in which case what are you hiding?

gwern14y ago

The suicide bit is cute. Indeed.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse