My Computer Mechanic

Can You Trust Google?

There is a new book out (just published last month) by Scott Cleland entitled Search & Destroy: Why You Can't Trust Google, Inc.

Scott Cleland is the world's leading Google critic, & has testified before Congress 3 times about Google & their business practices. This book tells the other side of the Google story. It critically examines Google's business practices, mission, & unprecedented power over information access & the digital economy.

I am not a fear monger, & I am a big user of Google as a search engine. (Also, I have not written a book report since high school.) Regardless of how much you know or don't know about Google, I feel it is important to let you know more about the company from Mr. Cleland's point of view. This is especially important in light of the rapid movement that our economy has made to doing more & more of our work & business online.

Technology author & consultant, Ira Brodsky, points out:

"Google has acquired far more information, both public & private, & has invented more ways to use it than anyone in history. Information is power, & in Google's case, Cleland argues it's the power to influence & control virtually anything the Internet touches. Google's power is largely unchecked, unaccountable -- and grossly underestimated. Search & Destroy examines Google's position as the Internet's lone superpower. And Google's power depends almost entirely on the blind trust it has gain through masterful duplicity. Search & Destroy demonstrates how Google routinely says one thing & does another.

"Google has acquired far more information, both public and private, and has invented more ways to use it, than anyone in history. Information is power, and in Google's case, Cleland argues, it's the power to influence and control virtually everything the Internet touches. Google's power is largely unchecked, unaccountable - and grossly underestimated. Search & Destroy examines Google's position as the Internet's lone superpower. And Google's power depends almost entirely on the blind trust it has gained through masterful duplicity. Search & Destroy demonstrates how Google routinely says one thing and does another.

"Cleland shows that the world's #1 brand is untrustworthy. He exposes the unethical company hiding behind a "Don't Be Evil" slogan. He uncovers Google's hidden political agenda and reveals how Google's famed mission to organize the world's information is destructive and wrong. Cleland is the first to critically examine where Google is leading us, explain why we don't want to go there, and propose straightforward solutions.

"Google's unprecedented centralization of power over the world's information is corrupting both Google and the Internet, Cleland says. Google is evolving from an information servant to master - from working for users, to making users work for the Internet behemoth."

Gary Reback (author of Free The Market! & the antitrust lawyer who spearheaded the federal government's case against Microsoft in the 1990s) states: "Scott Cleland's new book explains what getting 'Googled' really means: having your private information exploited, your personal security compromised, your market choices eliminated, & your naive trust in the company's public pronouncements betrayed . . . In truth, every computer user needs to read this book before clicking on the Google site again."

In his review, John Eade, president of the Argus Research Company, describes the new book as a wake-up call. "Search & Destroy eloquently makes the case that Google has no respect for Intellectual Property Rights, other than its own."

Unchecked Power

"Do we want an Internet devoid of privacy, property rights, and data security?" Cleland asks. Generations to come will have to live with decisions being made today based on what Cleland calls "assumed acquiescence" to Google's practices.

"Search & Destroy conclusively demonstrates that Google's goal is to change the world by influencing and controlling information access. Ultimately, Google's immense unchecked power is destructive precisely because Google is so shockingly-political, unethical and untrustworthy."

Availability

Search & Destroy is an exhaustively researched investigative book containing over 700 references (including court documents) and more than 150 verbatim quotes from Google Executives. The 329-page hardcover book is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. E-book versions are available for Kindle, Nook, and other popular e-readers. For more information, visit www.SearchandDestroyBook.com.

About the Author

Scott Cleland is the world's leading Google critic. Cleland has testified before Congress three times about Google. He publishes GoogleMonitor.com and Googlepoly.net, and authors with widely read PrecursorBlog.com. As President of Precursor LLC, he consults for Fortune 500 clients.

A former #1 ranked Institutional Investor independent analyst known for spotting early on why the Internet dotcom bubble would burst, Cleland was also the first analyst invited to testify before Congress about the missed warning signs of Enron's fraud and bankruptcy. Fortune profiled Cleland as "ahead of the pack in raising questions about WorldCom's debt, profitability, and survival." Cleland is also a former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Information and Communication Policy.