Update: Divorcing Google

I had no idea.  I didn’t think this would be sooooo much work.  Have you ever tried removing one application from google.  It’s about as fun as uninstalling something from microsoft.

A few posts ago, I reported that I removed reader.google.com.  Today, to my surprise, my reader account was still active.  I tried removing my calendar.google.com today, and every time I selected delete – then got the popup “are you sure” – I would find that my calendar was still there.

It took about an hour to removed docs.google.com.  There was a lot of stuff there.  Some top-secret strategic information for a company that has since been acquired by a bigger fish, so it doesn’t matter,  There were also several resumes, several home finance spreadsheets, some personal stuff, some embarrassing stuff, etc.  Google had access to all of this stuff.  Not saying that they looked at it.  I am really very unimportant.  But I bet google has a way of parsing all of the kagillionzillion words posted in docs and doing something maniacal with it … like selling marketing or adsense or words or something.  Why did it take sooo ling?  You have to download and remove one file at a time.  Each download and remove takes around 30 seconds.  So, guess how many files I had up there?

So, another accomplishment, I am off docs.google.com

FYI … there is a 30 second approach from separating entirely from Google.  Just wipe out your username.  But doing so would defeat the purpose of this project.  The purpose, or my purpose, is to understand exactly everything that they have access to.  Understand how they could – not stating they did – use my information to categorize, bucket, understand and group me into a larger group by which they could monetize with targeted marketing and sales.

I also cut off books.google.com, but that was easy.

Some Progress. Some Fears.

Previously on Memesist, I announced I was divorcing myself from a tie (made of many smaller ties) that has bound and nearly gagged me.  A tie that was choking me.  A tie that was trying to starve me. Google!

This week was busy, hectic, uncertain, high, low and every night I numbed out until early morning, then started it over again.  Lot’s occurred, but I can’t entirely remember. Next week I will make three simple goals, and go after them with focus.

I am proud of three very recent accomplishments that occured in the last 60 minutes amidst several, unrelated phone calls and emails.  I have cut a few of the smaller ties.

• DONE! Unhook from the reader.google.com
• DONE! Shut down analytics.google.com
• DONE! Clear my schedule from calendar.google.com

I didn’t expect it to be easy.  Anticipated it would be tricky.  These assumptions probably were the reason that it took an hour.  I lived up to my own expectations.

Whatever.  Three of the binds are severed.  In order to shut down the whole deal, to remove account entirely, I have about 8 or 9 other binds to snip.

But I accomplished something today.  Just want me to be clear about that, for myself.

They know too much.  Absolute knowledge corrupts absolutely.  I know I have bastardized the previous statement.  Please don’t correct me.

Here is what I am afraid of aside from my kids getting either mugged or lice.  I am afraid that google will cripple me and my entreprenuerial endeavors.  Cripple as in remove all my bones.  Could they do this.  Yep.  I am less than a spec of dust in a giant’s eye (another kimya reference).  I could get blacklisted.  They could send rays of combined internet buzzes from a satelitte orbitting over me now, of a photographer taking pictures of the building in which I compose this, and electrocute/zap/scorch/singe me to a messy pile of w, w, w’s.  This is NO dramatic understatement.  They could.  They have absolute power.  More than the US GDP.

I just got off the phone with my therapist.  Last paragraph caused a panic attack.  In the worst case scenario, I could get zapped.  If this occurs, then, I’d write a book and become a kazillionaire!