"Google Is In Phase 3, The 'Evil' Stage"

Does the Internet encourage people to take privacy less seriously?
In general terms, people (a majority) don’t actually care about privacy because the issue is so confusing and hard to understand. The legalese just confuses people and has little or no context for average folks.

Do people have to give up on privacy in order to use the Internet?
It’s an individual decision, and unfortunately in order to do the opposite, people will have to really scale up their tech skills and develop a deep understanding of privacy-related issues. This confusion is what allows Internet companies to coopt some of our privacy.

You have written about Facebook fatigue, is it already happening? Is it because of privacy concerns?
Privacy has nothing to do with Facebook. It’s just too time-consuming. After a period of time, the novelty starts to wear off. It becomes work to just keep everything going on Facebook. Keeping those connections relevant on a daily basis...that’s a job in itself.

To what extent can a Web experience mimic real life?
If you’d asked this question 10 years ago, it would be easy to understand. These days, it is real life that mimics the web and Internet life.

Has the Net started to replace all other means of expression and learning—such as books and magazines?
I think most people make this mistake that one medium would replace the other. That is never the case. Internet is just complementary to other means of expression and learning. Try watching The Dark Knight on a browser, and that’s when you appreciate the big screen. Try reading a 5,000-word story on the web, and you’ll suddenly appreciate The New Yorker.

Has Google become "too powerful" because of its wide user base and spread of services?
In Silicon Valley, we first fall in love with start-ups and their vision. Then a few years later when they are successful, we consider them to be geniuses. And when they become too powerful, they become evil. Google is currently in Phase 3. But most forget that after the too-powerful phase comes a swift fall from grace. IBM, Microsoft, Netscape...Google isn’t in that group so far, but....