Google Docs Paranoia

[Gyi]

Recently, there has been a lot of great information on SEOmoz about using Google Apps, Docs, etc. However, I suffer from Google paranoia (the fear that Google can see what's going on in my Google products). Is this fear unreasonable? Should I be concerned about using Google Apps, docs, analytics, etc. for SEO data (including keyword position tracking, back link analysis, etc)?

[AlanMosley]

I remember Matt Cutts say that no GA data is used. but then he also denies involvment in the Kennedy thing as well as his freemason membership.

[EGOL]

Alan, this hits really high on the BS meter!

[j0a0vargas]

Google is the oracle. hehehe

[AlanMosley]

google has been spying on us for years, Kennedy found out about it and they had him shot, he told his girlfriend Marilyn and they killed her too. The whole thing has ripple effects Have you ever wondered why all first positions for keywords are taken by freemasons? Wheels within wheels my friend, wheels within wheels

[j0a0vargas]

I suffer the same problem, and my paranoia sometimes goes further. Evenwhen I make phone calls to try to gain links, I think Google might be listening. hehehehe

[bemcapaz]

I think when you trust all your private data and preferences to a company that, like any other company, wants to make the most profit from it is reasanobly to have some fear.

But the thing is, you always have to see if the benefits is worth the risk. For me, using google products (docs, gmail, search, adwords, adsense, etc) so far have done more good than evil to me, so, I will sticky to it for now and hoping that one day it don't comes back and bites me.

And like EGOL just said.. google probably already knows everything they can about you so far.

Maybe the right question would be if we should put so much power in just one companys hand in first place..

[EGOL]

**(including keyword position tracking, back link analysis, etc) **

Google already has this data on you.... and if you claim your site on webmaster tools then they can associate it directly with you.

If you run adsense then they have all of your analytics - if they want it.

For a long time I felt that I should not install Google Analytics on one of my sites because I didn't want google to have the data.  However, now that they have Chrome browser with lots of people using it... they have enough data from that to know anything important that GA would collect - and probably more.

Google knows everything about you already.

[AlanBleiweiss]

Welcome to the tin foil hat crowd.  I've often suspected Google of looking at all the data, including gTalk discussions even.  Yet at the end of the day, with so many other things needing our attention, and until someone comes along and shows real data on how they actually used such info from any of their services to penalize someone's SEO, I personally choose to store such thoughts deep down in the far reaches of the "maybe" file bin. Just my own take on it.