Google debit card - Your thoughts?

[radium]

Google unveils prepaid debit card | Reuters

So Google has unveiled their own prepaid debit card in order to obtain more detailed information on consumer habits.

Do you think this is good or bad news?

I think this monster has already grown way too huge in respect of user privacy.

 

[adrian]

Next thing your know all restaurants will be taco bell! [video=youtube_share;xFiDoOgRTpk]http://youtu.be/xFiDoOgRTpk[/video]

 

[hiimjeremy]

Next thing your know all restaurants will be taco bell! [video=youtube_share;xFiDoOgRTpk]http://youtu.be/xFiDoOgRTpk[/video]

Haha!! Awesome movie.

 

[jackinnes]

I had a Paypal debit card a year or 2 ago, that was pretty handy, and with the closure of google checkout I can see why this would be useful.

 

[sam93]

Am I the only one who doesn't mind Google having access to my information? I love Google products and pretty much use them whenever possible, and if I'm going to get ads shoved in my face then they might as well be super targeted

 

[azgold]

Umm, yes sam93, you might be the only one.

I have to agree with the OP - Google has become wayyyyy too invasive. I became convinced of this with the whole Google+/YouTube fiasco. I have no problem with a company scaling up or changing their business but I balk at being forced (if I want to keep YT, gmail, etc.) to use a product or name that I neither need or want online. It's the forced funneling and connecting that I object to. It creates a long link to all of our online activity and makes it difficult to separate business from personal. Kinda like an online chip implant.

And then there's the account menu that comes up on your screen, showing everyone all your email addresses. Plus, if you save your password, all the details are there, just waiting to be clicked. So much for privacy. I finally figured out how to get rid of that but it's a pain in the butt to have to add an account every time, after you remove it from the display.

Perhaps I just haven't forgiven G for the YT thing yet but that's how I feel about it right now. I have tried to make the best of it and use it to my advantage, though so far very slow progress. I am determined to get over it but I am very cautious about what I reveal to them. Did figure out that they'll except fake names but they still know who you are and all the rest of it. Also, no authorship.

The whole Big Brother thing is kind of creepy. Also, a company having so much power that they have the freedom to strongarm people. Yes, yes, I know...we can use Bing instead. Sadly, I tried that out of protestation and it sucked for the searches I was performing.