The re:publica 08 keynote was really interesting: Viktor Mayer-Schönberger (of Harvard University) talked about reminding and forgetting information (“Nützliches vergessen”). As you might imagine he mentioned Google a few times, especially when it comes to storing and analyzing search queries Google is one or even the most powerful company to do so.
It’s probably no news to you but Google stores every search request you do and combines this also with every search result you ever clicked – since they started in the 90’s! Combining this with Googles centralized login it’s easy for them to create very detailed statistics about user behavior.
Mayer-Schönberger cited an interesting case where in 2001 someone created and published a document where this person mentioned his drug consumption from 1965. Five years later, in 2006, this person then wants to travel to the US but his entry was refused because a customs offer googled him: He was classified as someone to be addicted to drugs… and because of this his entry to the States will be refused forever! And why? Because this document was available online – even years later.
I think it’s really important to keep in mind that everything you publish online – no matter what or where – is accessible to everyone. Even years later – you should never forget that!
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