By Lacey Gunter
There are so many articles online about getting Google to pay attention to the writing on your blog or website so that other people can find you when they search a topic that relates. I often wonder about the opposite end. How much is Google paying attention to what we write in our search engines? If you are anything like me, a large portion of the topic research I do for a manuscript takes place online.
We should all know by now that Google and other internet giants are keeping vast personal records on each of us, based on our search, surfing and social media habits. Lucky for me, I write children's lit. So while my search topics can get wild, crazy and very random, they stay within safe legal and moral limits. Authors who write romance, suspense, criminal or horror may not be so lucky.
Being a wife of a lawyer, I hear how the information internet companies have on you can come up in a criminal case. Sometimes things like this even get used in civil cases, like divorce. But it doesn't even have to go that far to affect most of us. Many of the adds that populate our web browsing are driven, in some part, by what we search. But with the vast amount of information available in just a few clicks, it's seems almost archaic not to use the internet for research.
So what is Google saying about you behind closed doors? For most of us writers, I bet it is a pretty crazy message.
There are so many articles online about getting Google to pay attention to the writing on your blog or website so that other people can find you when they search a topic that relates. I often wonder about the opposite end. How much is Google paying attention to what we write in our search engines? If you are anything like me, a large portion of the topic research I do for a manuscript takes place online.
We should all know by now that Google and other internet giants are keeping vast personal records on each of us, based on our search, surfing and social media habits. Lucky for me, I write children's lit. So while my search topics can get wild, crazy and very random, they stay within safe legal and moral limits. Authors who write romance, suspense, criminal or horror may not be so lucky.
Being a wife of a lawyer, I hear how the information internet companies have on you can come up in a criminal case. Sometimes things like this even get used in civil cases, like divorce. But it doesn't even have to go that far to affect most of us. Many of the adds that populate our web browsing are driven, in some part, by what we search. But with the vast amount of information available in just a few clicks, it's seems almost archaic not to use the internet for research.
So what is Google saying about you behind closed doors? For most of us writers, I bet it is a pretty crazy message.
What an age we live in, to have to worry about such things. I suppose using an "incognito" browser tab for research will help prevent some odd things from showing up in ads, but would still be part of whatever profile Google makes (or any legal case requiring search engine history).
ReplyDeleteWhat an age we live in, to have to worry about such things. I suppose using an "incognito" browser tab for research will help prevent some odd things from showing up in ads, but would still be part of whatever profile Google makes (or any legal case requiring search engine history).
ReplyDelete