Exchanging Privacy for Money

Ever imagine how many times an hour someone searches a topic via google? Let alone how much time is actually spent on the web a day? I have seen the ads where a very interesting offer is made to make quick and easy money, and this one appears to be one of them. Google is now wanting to pay web users just like you and I. How it works is this, participants subscribe to a program called Screenwise. What this program does exactly may be a deal breaker to some. Once subscribed to Screenwise, you have legally given up rights over to Google to monitor your every move on the internet. The perks are these: five dollars for when you first sign up, and a five dollar gift card every three months of access to your every online move. The article also stated that Screenwise will also track private browsing as well.
As for me, it’s a major deal breaker. Even though I have nothing to show for online, I believe it all comes down to an issue of privacy. The reasons are not yet clear as to why they are going through with such a program. Also, the perks simply do not compare to giving up your right to privacy. The fact that they are offering to pay five dollar amazon gift cards once a month seems to be  less motivating then getting a higher or significant amount of  benefits or rewards. If I were to market this idea a little better, as a representative of Google, I could offer them access to use a webpage or free premium advertisement to and persons with a business to get involved. If that route doesn’t work, they have to start maximizing the rewards. I believe they are starting out small and wanting to see how much they can get away with without sacrificing too much. It is not a smart move for google. There could be some way in which there is a loophole and they could end up playing with fire.

The article also states something that I find to be a major warning sign; “while browsing even in private browsing mode, Screenwise will share data with third parties, should you opt for the hardware-based-option.” Yikes! No wonder we get solicited from every outlet. It is offers like these that make it seem rather effortless to obtain any person’s information.

 

Article found: yahoo.com/news

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