Google has launched Screenwise, a 100% voluntary project that attempts to nail down internet usage statistics from normal, everyday users, rather than the ‘power-users’ that are typically monitored and seem to have the loudest voice. Google is willing to pay these regular Joes throughout the monitoring process as well, albeit via relatively meager Amazon gift cards.
What’s the catch? Well, once you opt in as a panelist, your every click around the vast interwebs will be captured by a browser extension and sent back to the Google mothership, to help them better understand how everyday folks use the web.
If you’re not a conspiracy theorist, or worried about being a part of a broad cross-section (and you’re at least 13 years old), you could have signed up to be a panelist through the Screenwise website. However, at the time of writing, there has been an overwhelming interest for this program and Google is urging those interested to “please come back later for more details”. If you got in early or the program opens back up, Google plans to reward panelists with a $5 Amazon gift card for the first month of tracking and another $5 gift card for every three months thereafter.
To take it a step further, of the folks that have already signed up, a handful have been approached to install a small black box to their home modem called a Screenwise Data Collector (SDC). Having an SDC box in your home will track your entire home network usage, no matter the time of day, chosen browser, or device you surf on. While more intrusive, the SDC program does award participants $20 for every month they participate and an initial $100 for starting the program.
So how do you feel about every keystroke, click, hover, or late-night Amazon impulse being tracked and recorded to provide the common user a better experience on the internet?
Tags: Google tracking, kinda creepy, Screenwise
Great posting! Salutations, I was captivated by what your bloghad to say about the information.
Good post. Among the issues I find interesting is this: that participants’ privacy (or lack thereof) now appears to have a monetary value -twenty bucks a month. In a recent survey I ran for a client, when participants were asked if they were concerned about their online privacy when they shopped, a large % said no, but with a fatalistic twist; many commented that “all my information is already out there”. When details of being tracked, stored, and analyzed were snuck into other questions, folks were a bit more circumspect. Certainly google’s new terms have fomented an interesting conversation.
I’m so glad I discovered your page. I loved your article, and found it so helpful. This is definitely going on my bookmarks, and I’ll be returning to read more soon.