Vic!

Blueberry boy

The idea behind surveillance capitalism is super simple: 1. collect as much data as possible. 2. fashion behavioral predictions from said data, tied to user profiles, 3. sell the predictions as a product to interested parties (advertisers; governments; whomever's buying. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

To extract this data, Google has developed an elaborate system to track who you message, what you buy, and where you go. Every click is accounted for.

It started with Search: Google logs every search you make, and every URL you visit across its platforms.

No log in, no prob: Google can track you by your IP address and its slew of cookies. On top of that there's Google Analytics, the largest cross-site tracker on the internet. Google's embedded trackers collect data on every page visit, the length of time, and what you click. (Not even incognito mode is... incognito.)

Next came Google suite—Docs, Gmail, etc—a veritable goldmine of metadata (or "data about data"). Meanwhile, Gmail tracks the sender of every email and its receiver, timestamps, and so on. (And we don't have to tell you how we @ Ellipsus feel about Docs... 🫣)

“To be lost, and to be found… that is the lifespan of love.”

momo 👻

(RIP CHAIRON 💔💔)