Web History's History

I found some really interesting responses to the launch of Google Web History that are all well worth visiting.

  • CNET’s Margaret Kane has a roundup of news on their news blog.
  • Mark Blair’s SMOblog (which stands for “Social Media Optimization”, a term I kinda like) says Google is organizing the world’s conversation. It’s a fairly generous variation on Google’s original mission of “organizing the world’s information”, which I think Google abandoned long-ago, but it’s well worth the read.
  • The Globe and Mail’s Mathew Ingram asks How much do you love Google? I believe Tina said it best: What’s love got to do with it?
  • Adobe’s John Dowdell, whom I’m a huge fan of, always has a great perspective. This time on proprietary data:

Microsoft’s hyperintegration of code and functionality led to their well-known security problems over the past ten years… Google seems similarly vulnerable these days, with their hyperintegration of user data. It looks like they’re trying to handle it correctly, but it’s a heavy weight to accept. I suspect that eventually we’ll see a counter-pressure, towards decentralized data services rather than private, opaque, and centralized data silos.

  • Aliza Sherman has some nice words that get at exactly why I like blogging about these things — hopefully a good blog post can provide perspective that’s useful for those too busy to do the research themselves.
  • Rex Hammock offers a more personal look at Web History, focusing on the attention implications of the new service.
  • Geek and Poke already has a comic strip up about Web History.
  • And, winning the “Best Headline” award, is Good Morning Silicon Valley, with Those who do not purge history are condemned to reread it. Aaaand I think think nobody’s topping that one today, folks.