Beware the internet.

I'm addicted to the internet about as much as any of you. It's an amazing educational communicative tool. It's incredible to think that we are finally at a point in time where conscious ideas and information are brought together into a single thing we call 'The Internet'.

Now I want you to think of the internet as a single consciousness. We are a single species using the internet, sharing our ideas and information on something largely interconnected.
The internet was originally a government invented tool. Eventually it was brought to the public. Why? The internet is simply a giant POLL to record useful statistics on human activity. This is a great way for the government (bigger than the government) to monitor activity all around the globe and use it in advantageous ways.

Let's take a look at Google. Who would think a Search Engine could be profitable. In todays world it of course seems practical- selling advertising and all. Google does this but they also have other agendas in mind.
When you open your browser you have 3 choices to go where you want. You either know the web address, use StumbleUpon, or use a search engine. Most of us use search engines- and most of you probably use Google. You really don't have any other ways of finding things on the internet.
When you perform a search Google is logging that information. This information is recorded and run through machines that calculate information based on location, items searched for, email addresses, names, etc. They aren't sharing this information (atleast I'd link to think they aren't) but this information allows them to determine what movies are popular (even before release), what stock is being looked at the most, what products people are most interested in by location, information on sickness, news... I could go on and on. Computers process this information and it is used for business purposes. Don't forget Gmail either. Computers are scanning those emails for every piece of information they can gather. Use Google Earth? Google knows the locations most searched for and locations that are rarely visited and records the anomalies. I imagine Google is aware of some top secret locations. This information harvesting is why Google is developing into such a huge business.

Let me give you an example...
Say you sell junk on Ebay. Wouldn't you be interested in knowing what people search for the most on Ebay? What products are hits? What is the most profitable? Google does this.

Predictions are easily made with all the information coming in from human sources. These aren't even predictions- they are fact; the statistic of human activity and thought. Wars start because we make them... levels of savage intensity can easily predict coming collapses of peace. It's in our search words and in our news.
Governments use this gathered info to peer into alternative news sources, track activity, determine social or economical collapse, make predictions, fuel fires...
There's enough information here to be profitable on a massive scale.

The information that is being collected on the internet is extremely dangerous in the wrong hands. Governments use the internet to spy on other governments and countries; to spy on the people. You weren't given the internet for free speech- that has been made very clear. Message boards receive cease and desist notices for objectionable posts- that's not free speech. I used to use Google and actually find results that interested me. Use Google anymore and the top sites are always junk- so much is filtered. It's hard to find anything worthwhile. You can't just go posting anything on the internet.

Question how your finding new and alternative websites. You aren't being given much of a choice. Question the information being gathered from you.

[edit on 16-3-2009 by buspol]

Yes, there is the point of view that the whole real purpose of the internet is to get people to expose their interests and nature. The government has much greater access to who you and I are and what we care about via the net then it could ever possibly obtained by talking to everyone's neighbors and monitoring everyone's phones. We hand the government our "identities" on the web no question about it.

The logical progression of a search engine as popular as google would be the aggregation of ideas.

The topics on people's minds can provide a mandate for those that make the broad effect decisions like large corporations and government. Think a real psychic that doesn't deceive. A mirror or crystal ball of sorts. How much could a REAL oracle earn for their services? I'd say the price is unlimited. Such is the case with google.

If you take away the users of google, they become useless, worthless and will be soon to fall. This is already happening to a degree as once something is "in" (in pop culture) it is "out" just BECAUSE it's "in".

I expect a resurgence of yahoo and the rise of another, such as cuil.com (one of the engineers of the modern google has started this faster, more efficient search engine with deeper coverage than google.)

Eventually searches will be based on a distributed platform. Think bit torrent meets google, p2p & dogpile etc. It is sort of that way already, it's just not that obvious in the user layer.