G-Male: The Perfect Boyfriend or Big Brother?

      Thanks to our dear friends at Google, apparently the search for the perfect boyfriend is over! Or is it? This video personifies the "keyword tracking" that the company uses in order to display sites and advertisements appropriate to the user. While I think having a live-in, know-all-tell-all boyfriend who can find anything that my sometimes scatterbrained self might misplace would be ideal, knowing my every thought leaves nothing to be desired.

      Google's tracking tactics have never seemed to bother me. I have always found it helpful that my computer and/or browser knew me well enough to suggest places I might enjoy going or things I might enjoy looking at. Sometimes it shows me things I didn't even realize I was interested in buying! However, G-Male has shed a new light on the tracking issue. Seeing Google personified in this character makes it seem a little more creepy and slightly annoying. While the ad recommendations are helpful and seemingly entertaining, the lack of privacy is not so much. G-Male seemed insanely helpful and cute to start with but then his increase in pervasiveness completely altered his character. I would have knocked the guy out at 1:33.  My mother isn't even that nosy/needy.

     While Google has always been my search engine of choice (and I LOVE Google Chrome by the way), this video has potentially altered our relationship. If Yahoo! was scanning my e-mails, I would be a little more accepting due to the fact that they host my account. On a side note, I am irritated that I keep getting Viagra and Male Enhancement e-mails in my Spam. I checked "female" for a reason Yahoo! Anyways, while Google's tactics do seem creepy and invasive, I doubt it will have much of an effect on how much I use it or how private I keep my browsing. The people at Google don't know me from Adam.

     I did think Comediva's portrayal was hilarious. It really made the issue seem more public and more open and made you think of it in a completely different aspect. The fact the guy knew such private information was a wake-up call to just how much information we do allow to be lost in the web. But as long as G-male stays in my computer and doesn't interfere with reality, we can be friends!