The Google data hole has opened up another orifice to probe your life. Google Health is designed to "Organize your health information all in one place. Gather your medical records from doctors, hospitals and pharmacies…"
Sounds good so far, at least at the high level: A big drive in the sky that keeps all your medical stuff in one place that you can point those who need to know at, so they can practice their art with as much knowledge as possible.
The buzzkill is the last couple of lines: "Keep your doctors up to date about your health. Be more informed about important health issues." How is Google going to help me be more informed? The same way they always do, by giving me targeted ads down one side of my browser page based the keywords that Google has identified.
You see this on a lot of web sites, they take what you entered and offer you links that are sort of like what you typed in. Amazon recommendations, eBay sellers, or just simple wild-card link generators. Type in "January Sub-Orbital Denominator" and get a list of books on all the words served up in a convenient link, as well as images of January Sub-Orbital Denominator in a bathing suit, plus a handful of links to eBay sellers who have not just January Sub-Orbital Denominator, but the Classic one for sale, cheap.
Here’s two other little features from Google Health, taken right from their Terms of Service:
Not only is Google (Larry Page and Sergey Brin) very kindly offering me targeted ads to keep me informed, they’re also accumulating all my data to sell to other companies to help me have a better user experience. Of course, there is no personal data transmitted: Larry and Sergey said so and if you can’t believe them, who can you believe?
To be fair, Bill and Steve offer the same thing called Microsoft Health Vault which is just as dodgy. Even the home page features ads from a bunch of advertisers of medical equipment (home blood pressure monitors for instance) and links from some sites that offer to help you with more information. Of course, there is no personal information transmitted: Bill and Steve said so and if you can’t believe them, who can you believe?
Both companies make a lot of money selling the attention of people who are interested in certain things. This is no different from the days of broadcast television, but with the web, you can be very very specific.
If, as an advertiser, you only want to reach left-handed bi-polars with high blood pressure, then analyzing the raw data from either Google or Microsoft will tell you how many left-handed bi-polars with high blood pressure exist in their audiences. If there are enough subscribers, then you buy a click link. Odds are that the very specific subset of subscribers will see your ad and a profitable number will click on it and buy what you’re selling.
As an advertiser, you pay Google and Microsoft for the privilege of seeing the data, using the data and having them place your ad. Then you pay for anyone who clicks on your ad.
Aside from a ‘better user experience’, we’re letting two large corporations know everything about our health so they can sell the data to other companies for money. As a user, you won’t get paid a percentage for advertisers being interested in whatever maladies you might have and taken the time to enter into your health record.
You might notice that I have left out the whole ethical issue of insurance companies buying the data and adjusting health insurance rates based on what you’ve posted. After all, they wouldn’t do that: They’ve said so and if you can’t believe a private health insurance carrier, who can you believe?
RoadDave 