The Do No Evil Boys follow in Buffett's footsteps

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By Matthew Ingram at Businessweek.com:

Google Confirms It Aims to Own Your Online ID

"Ever since Google launched its new Google+ social network, we and others have pointed out that the search giant clearly has more in mind than just providing a nice place for people to share photos of their pets. For one thing, Google needs to tap into the “social signals” that people provide through networks such as Facebook so it can improve its search results. There’s a larger motive, too: As Chairman and former Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt admitted during an interview in Edinburgh over the weekend, Google is taking a hard line on the real-name issue because it sees Google+ as an “identity service” or platform on which it can build other products....

What kind of services is Schmidt referring to when he says that Google is looking at Google+ as an identity platform that could support other services? Dave Winer thinks the company wants to effectively become a bank—something he suspects Apple and Amazon are interested in as well. Apple and Google both seem interested in NFC technology (near-field communication), which turns mobile devices into electronic wallets; having a social network tied to an individual user’s identity would come in handy. Ross Dawson says Google wants to build a “reputation engine,” using Google+ as a platform.

Whatever its specific interests, Google clearly sees Facebook as a competitive threat, not just because it has developed a gigantic social network with hundreds of millions of devoted users, but because it has also become a kind of identity gatekeeper—with tens of millions of those devoted users happily logging into other websites and services with their Facebook credentials, thus sending Facebook valuable data about what they are doing and where they are doing it. The ubiquitous “like” button provides even further data, something Google is also trying to mimic with its +1 buttons..."

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This is Big Brother from the Do No Evil Boys.  Similar to moral frauds like Warren Buffett, who loves Big Government as long as he can take every personal and corporate tax break available while spouting that all others must pay more taxes, the Google boys invade people's private lives and work hard to influence politics and social standards.  It is certainly easy to see how Google wants to control people's electronic wallets as technology moves us further into a digital world.  Why should Google be able to go so far?

Think about this: Walmart was prevented from creating a bank.  Walmart intended create a Walmart Bank, slash banking costs, and make banking more consumer friendly. But Washington cried foul.

Yet Google, Apple and Amazon have plans, driven by their gigantic data collection of private individual behavior, to enter and control the banking world. Are they better than Walmart?

Does a preference exist in Washington for some providers but not others? 
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Link: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/google-confirms-it-aims-to-own-your-online-id-08292011.html