A while back, I read an article about websites where you could make a little $$ taking pics of businesses in out of the way places professional photographers didn't want to bother with. I think it involved a phone app and they sent live stream jobs, you could snap pictures with your phone, and the app would submit it and deposit $5 in your account. Anyone know about this? I thought I saved it but now I can't find it. Sounds good for RVer's, those nickels can add up. The article featured 2 guys making a full time job of it.

Google is scary, in my opinion, regarding the privacy issues. So is Facebook. Think about it: people willingly post their names, addresses, phone numbers, family is linked, photos are tagged (the facial recognition software on Facebook is REALLY scary, I seem to remember reading that the CIA "donated" a substantial amount of $$ to help Facebook get it up and refined). Anybody need a tinfoil hat? LOL

As far as trackers, get Ghostery, it's a little program for both Mac and PC that blocks tracking. On this page Ghostery is blocking Google +1, Google Adsense, and VigLink. Some webpages have more than 2 dozen trackers! I got it because being on satellite internet I have strict bandwidth restrictions, and I don't want to be using a chunk of it for other companies to be phoning home with data about me on my dime. Blocking them will speed up your browsing, and keep away some of the spam from your email.

I don't like to believe much in conspiracy theory's but I hate to argue against them more because my arguments seem to fall apart. I think that's because the theories are so much more interesting.

For me the primary reason that the information gathered by these Internet companies is important to me is when I need demographic information for product promotion. The more specific information I have the more targeted I can make a promotion and the less it costs me to target my specific audience. It would be really nice to be able to send an email blast or a snail mail campaign just to contractors who install products like mine. Unfortunately, even with all the information they gather we still can't drill down that deep. Or so they say.

Marketers clamor for that information. Market analysis can ensure at only successful product launches saving millions. The problem is making sure the information is only used for that and therein lies the rub. The childish behavior we witness everyday in Washington doesn't breed trust amongst us minions. Back in the middle last century we hunted communists as if they were witches. Just a few hundred years before that we hunted witches as if they were communists! What's next? Based in the fidelity of the information they can gather we could be bordering on the thought police today.

I bought beer at Target the other day. They wanted to scan my drivers license to document my age. I said no so they called a supervisor over to confirm my age and I was on my way. I know that all they wanted was documentation that they had checked my age, but what if?

What if I wanted to live in an RV and live off the grid so people couldn't find me so easy? Good luck with that if you want to use any technology!

Unfortunately, as a webmaster, I'm stuck with Google and Facebook, but restrict my interactions to "just business, nothing personal". To me, Facebook is especially creepy... FB paid no taxes due to their big hullabaloo stock launch failure, still managed to make a $ billion profit, and got almost a 1/2 $billion return, when they paid no taxes. As a small biz owner, I sometimes use FB small ads, and lately, FB has been arbitrarily rejecting ads, the "help" forums are burning up with it, but no "help" in sight from FB. It's pretty obvious they don't need our micro-ad $$$, so how do They make their $$$? Add to that, how many times a week do you hear on the news about someone getting fired from a job, expelled from school, or arrested because of something on FB? Or when employers were demanding FB passwords, to investigate potential hires? (Mark of the Beast!) Oh, and that facial recognition software? They have a program, where businesses install cameras hooked into the system, and if you are signed up and recognized, you get a discount! Ain't that special! Recognize this!  There are actually anti-facial recognition make up tutorials on You Tube, and an underground trend among men for growing beards.