Google Touts Worker Tracking As Own CEO Goes MIA 272
theodp writes "On Thursday, Google announced a product that enables a business to see where all its workers are at all times. Called Maps Coordinate, it combines a paid-for business version of Google's standard maps product with an application downloaded to a worker's smartphone, creating a real-time record of worker locations. Ironically, Google touted its worker tracking solution on the very same day that CEO Larry Page was a surprise no-show at Google's Annual Shareholder Meeting, leaving Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt to explain his absence. Schmidt explained that Page had lost his voice and, as a result, would likely also miss next week's I/O conference and possibly next month's quarterly earnings call. While a Google spokeswoman declined to comment further on Page's condition, Schmidt added that Page will continue as CEO while he recovers. So, why not reassure those worried about the situation by publicly tracking Page's location via Maps Coordinate? After all, Google's a true believer in eating its own dog food, right?"
Huh? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Huh? (Score:4, Insightful)
What kind of crap argument is that in the summary? Live tracking the CEO of Google because you're upset about your stocks. Genius.
You identified it already. A crap one.
Re:Huh? (Score:5, Insightful)
No, live tracking the CEO of Google because Google is pushing live tracking of employees.
Re:Huh? (Score:5, Funny)
No, live tracking the CEO of Google because Google is pushing live tracking of employees.
Right.
It's called turnabout, [merriam-webster.com] and by all accounts is considered fair play.
Re:Huh? (Score:4, Interesting)
Why not? They track us all the fucking time, and we don't even work for them.
Re:Huh? (Score:5, Insightful)
Wait you're right!
We never considered this in the past. We will completely rethink our strategy from this point forward.
From now on we will not track a single person, everyone's browsing habits will be anonymous.
Here's our new pricing policy:
- $0.10 per google search.
- $0.30 per click on a search result.
- $10 per month for Gmail.
- $0.50 per sqkm of map downloaded on maps.
This new pricing structure offers people exactly what they want. A completely ad free and untracked Google experience. If you do not wish to pay this pricing scheme or wish to keep using Google services for free, you can sign up for a free google experience by sending an email to please_track_me@google.com [mailto]
Kind Regards
Larry Page
Google - Giving the customers the choice they always wanted.
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Re:Huh? (Score:4, Insightful)
since the priv'd class has their own judges, law system and rules (a closed, mini-society, essentially) I would not expect them to have to follow rules given to the worker classes.
and if I am using class warfare language, its because we ARE under class-warfare right now.
Tracking employees is just wrong (Score:3, Insightful)
Today they're tracking us during office hours, tomorrow they're tracking us after-hours. What's next?
Re:Tracking employees is just wrong (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Tracking employees is just wrong (Score:5, Funny)
MOD PARENT SIDEWAYS.
Re:Tracking employees is just wrong (Score:5, Insightful)
Today they're tracking us during office hours, tomorrow they're tracking us after-hours. What's next?
Hmm, perhaps
Mandatory yearly physicals that only the company gets to see the results of.
Pre-employment genetic testing.
Employment termination due to not living in an approved community.
Background checks of all family, friends, and neighbors.
Re:Tracking employees is just wrong (Score:5, Insightful)
Today they're tracking us during office hours, tomorrow they're tracking us after-hours. What's next?
Hmm, perhaps
Mandatory yearly physicals that only the company gets to see the results of.
Pre-employment genetic testing.
Employment termination due to not living in an approved community.
Background checks of all family, friends, and neighbors.
Oh, so you want to work in the Defense industry?
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Today they're tracking us during office hours, tomorrow they're tracking us after-hours. What's next?
Returning to civilized society?
As in switching your work phone on when you get to work, and switching it off when you leave work. That's what I do, because (i) the company's time is 37½ hours per week for 45 weeks of the year [minus a few statutory holidays], with all other time being my own, and (ii) nobody pays me to be "on-call" or available outside work hours, and an offer would have to be very attractive to get me to consent to such an arrangement. If any tracking application is on it, I can onl
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Re:Tracking employees is just wrong (Score:5, Insightful)
I find it funny how "civilized society" to you means telling your employer to go pound sand if it's not precisely the time you're supposed to be in the building.
For me civilized is taking the occasional off-hours call in exchange for my employer allowing allowing me take an occasional (and, indeed, quite more frequent) bit of person time during work. Like reading and posting on slashdot, for instance. You know, like you're doing during these (ostensibly) business hours.
Re:Tracking employees is just wrong (Score:5, Funny)
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Requiring employees to demonstrate that they don't ingest particular mind-altering substances in their spare time as a condition of their employment?
(Full disclosure: I don't use drugs, but I think it's completely inappropriate that employers test for them.)
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Even more hysterical is that said drug-testing is often inversely proportional to the level of responsibility and ability for said applicant to fuck shit up royally.
The kid restocking the fucking bandages and shit at the local hospital has to submit a hair test to make sure he's not a junkie, but nurses tending to the sick just breeze right through the application process as long as they've got their certifications. I guess people just can't be drug addicts anymore once they get a degree or something.
Re:Tracking employees is just wrong (Score:4, Insightful)
I guess people just can't be drug addicts anymore once they get a degree or something.
It is worse than the, you are actually authorized to become one if you have the right job, I was missing my 20's legendary concentration ability, I talked to that to my company doctor and came out whit a prescription for 720 pills of 30mg dextroamphetamine-levolysinate. I am starting my seconds year on that, here are the effect I benefited from: a toned musculature, ripped abs, excellent cholesterol level and excellent energy(d'uh), stopped cannabis abuse, and yeah!, my concentration is back to a level I never experienced. However I am now addicted and if I forgot to take my pills I feel slow as fuck, to the point of being a borderline retard, and I am extremely irritable.
I also have a relative, a wood worker, who takes street amphetamine for the same purpose, he do not takes more than half a pills a day and it enable him to stay focused. He is also addicted.
Can someone tell me why my addiction is legally and socially acceptable but his is not ?
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Tracking your bathroom habits..
"Looks like Peon # 547382 is a wadder, not a folder... recommend T.P. rationing."
Bonus points if you can figure out what that's a reference from... 'cause I sure as hell can't remember.
Re:Tracking employees is just wrong (Score:5, Informative)
Already happens. In some call centers you have to put your bathroom requests into the call center management applications and then the app lets you know when you can get up and go to the bathroom.
Re:Tracking employees is just wrong (Score:5, Insightful)
Does not correlate (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Does not correlate (Score:5, Insightful)
I agree. The description makes it sound like CEO caught a cold that included laryngitis... Seriously, that's not worthy of telling the whole goddamn planet where he is.
In a world where much work is done at a computer, it's pretty easy to continue as CEO of a company (especially one as tech-oriented as Google) but not be able to participate in a public speaking engagement due to laryngitis.
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In a world where much work is done at a computer, it's pretty easy to continue as CEO of a company (especially one as tech-oriented as Google) but not be able to participate in a public speaking engagement due to laryngitis.
Yes it is pretty easy. Its really strange to suggest, today that he might miss the share holder conference more than a week from now though. That is long time to be too sick with a cold virus to participate in what is probably the CEO's most visible event all year. It almost looks like they are trying to manage expectations, which could indicate something is more deeply wrong than him just being out sick today.
Re:Does not correlate (Score:4, Funny)
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something is more deeply wrong than him just being out sick today.
*cue the rumor mill*
Sounds like throat cancer.
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Even executives are employees, but yes this is only for when you are at work. Once you are off the clock, turn off the program and you are no longer tracked.
My phone is dumb. (Score:2)
Good luck with any company trying to track it. In fact my phone is so old, it has an analog transceiver for use on old networks (like rural Wyoming). So I don't care if my company TRIES to track me; they will fail.
WTF? (Score:5, Insightful)
No. A thousand times no.
I can't believe people would be willing to do this.
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Re:WTF? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:WTF? (Score:5, Insightful)
No, because once the technology is available, some asshole at the C level will decide that all employees need to install this on their phone. Even if is a privately owned phone.
I don't want the government tracking where I am. I don't want my employer tracking where I am. I don't want Google tracking where I am. As soon as one of them has it, the rest of them will want access to the information.
But you're right, it sure as hell is 1984 ... once people start doing this, there's all sorts of ways it gets abused or suffers from scope creep.
Eventually it becomes a condition of employment, or any number of things. Categorically, DO NOT WANT.
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If that scenario ever came to light I would make it my life goal to hack that tracking functionality.
A digital, freedom-fighter kind of hacking...
I'm dead serious.
People are so scared of technology being used to track everyone, and rightfully so.
But can' technology ALSO be used to UN-track people?
Just look at tor and bitcoin as embryonic examples of what I am trying to get at...
Re:WTF? (Score:5, Funny)
If that scenario ever came to light I would make it my life goal to hack that tracking functionality.
A digital, freedom-fighter kind of hacking...
How about just a "Leaving your phone on your desk" kind of hacking?
Or would that not be exciting and edgy enough?
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Or a Cessna.
Got access to a submersible?
Oh, the places you'll go...
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But can' technology ALSO be used to UN-track people?
Like, leaving my tracked cell-phone at my workdesk, but having the calls forwarded to my untracked personal phone at the location of my chosing?
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No, because once the technology is available, some asshole at the C level will decide that all employees need to install this on their phone.
The technology has been available for years, yet few employers use it:
http://us.blackberry.com/smartphones/features/gps.jsp [blackberry.com]
Even if is a privately owned phone.
I don't want the government tracking where I am.
Too late, as long as your phone is powered on, the government can track you. No software needed.
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Pretty sure they at least need the software that talks to the cell towers....
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Pretty sure they at least need the software that talks to the cell towers....
It's hardly a cell phone if it has no software to talk to cell towers, that device would be more appropriately called a "brick".
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But you're right, it sure as hell is 1984
28 years late... 1984 was a cautionary dystopia, and also basically unavoidable after things like electronic transmission of sound and picture started developing. If you don't like the monitored life in Western cities, there's still 99% of the planet surface that's not covered by high resolution cameras 24/7, for now.
Also, carrying a cellphone is still optional to the vast majority of humans on the planet - most people choose to, benefits outweighing the costs.
If you don't like working a tracked job, don't
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it could encourage productivity and for those of us who really go 100% during work time, the appreciation of our colleagues.
Says someone posting in the middle of the day on a Friday.
Yes, I realize there are plenty of reasons why these two items might not conflict. However given that it was posted AC, I reject said reasons.
Re:WTF? (Score:4, Interesting)
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it's only a matter of time before your position on the map starts identifying you as visiting the local gay bar (if straight, strip club if gay) during work hours.
Huh... I was going to suggest a blanket party, but yea, that's a good one too!
Not to mention, no need to gather tube socks and bars of soap...
Re:WTF? (Score:4, Insightful)
Or, more importantly, tracking important shipments and the drivers who are tasked with delivering them. It goes from being able to provide excellent service (Bill is exactly 67 miles from your office) to knowing where it is when it has been high-jacked. This is going to replace a lot of homegrown stuff.
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UPS/FedEx package tracking is hardly home grown.
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it combines a paid-for business version of Google's standard maps product with an application downloaded to a worker's smartphone, creating a real-time record of worker locations
Not to MY smartphone.
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Well, maybe if I could be assured that it was only on company time and wouldn't be used for an unreasonable level of micromanagement. However, we all should know by now that many employers won't stop there, and will insist on the ability to track you on your off-hours as well. It'll be the Facebook password fiasco all over again.
Employees are people that you pay in return for services rendered. They aren't property.
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I can't believe people would be willing to do this.
I can think of plenty of industries where this is already done to some degree -- a Google maps integration would likely only help things. A few examples:
Re:WTF? (Score:5, Insightful)
You realize lots of organizations already do this right?
Scheduling arrivals of service people and deliveries pretty much requires tracking them.
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You realize lots of organizations already do this right?
Scheduling arrivals of service people and deliveries pretty much requires tracking them.
No, it requires tracking the position of company cars. Which is acceptable.
Re:WTF? (Score:4, Insightful)
I doubt if it was a corporate device that the end user would know (regardless of the law).
I'm off to close my gmail account now because this has disgusted me. Sorry but I will never support an organisation that promotes such things. Back to mutt and postfix!
Do you really think Google is the only provider for employee tracking?
You better stop using the internet too.... your packets are being routed over Cisco gear, and Cisco sells appliances that enable employers to track their employees via Wifi tags. By continuing to use the internet, you're supporting Cisco.
If you really wanted to take a stand against employee tracking, you'd push your legislators to make it illegal. Closing your gmail account accomplishes nothing (and no one really believes that you're going to do it unless you're already not using it) Though I do think there are many legitimate reasons for an employer to track employees, like tracking outside service technicians to predict when they will be able to go to their next call, making sure that the courier that's carrying cash between buildings doesn't make any unexpected detours (due to carjack or outright theft), tracking scientists in a lab for safety - i.e. if he enters a hazardous materials storage room but doesn't leave the room after X minutes, maybe someone should check on him, etc.
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I doubt this is for watching your office drones' every movement. It would be really handy for service-based businesses that need to dispatch workers to various locations. Think cable repair men. When a call comes in, the closest idle worker can be dispatched to the location. And all it requires is a cellphone.
Exactly - besides, cell phones aren't the best solution for in-building tracking. Employers that want to track employees inside building use RFID tags and Wifi tracking tags.
Where's the ethics? (Score:2)
Everyone knows Larry Page has no respect for personal boundaries but the programmers at Google disappoint me for enabling his relentless pursuit of killing privacy.
Re:Where's the ethics? (Score:4, Insightful)
they turn a blind eye.
treat them like primadonnas, give them free lunch and fancy perks and they'll turn a blind eye.
seriously. its easy to convince kids (most are kids, lets be honest) to ignore long-term ethical considerations when , OOH SHINEY! is given to them, again and again.
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Reminds me of a project about 70 years ago. Even adults ignored long-term ethical considerations, until way too late.
What was it called? The Long Island Project? No. The Brooklyn Project? No. Something...
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So what exactly are the long-term ethical considerations one should have regarding a weapon that is too terrible for it to ever be used on a large scale? It's the small scale, easy to use weapons such as the AK-47 and land mines that are the least ethical.
The Manhattan Project invented the Best Boogeyman EVER!!
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Yes. There has been no global-scale war since 2 countries had nukes. It's scary (hey, I grew up with the boimb, there were air raid sirens in my neighborhood, trested every Friday at noon), but aparanty it works.
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That doesn't remotely mean they're more ethical. That just means both/multiple sides are scared to use them.
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Add up the number of deaths by nuke.
Now add up the numebr of deaths by gunshot.
Which is larger?
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In practice weapons that can be used by the individual are worse than weapons that requires thousands of people to use.
So yes, a bomb that can blow up an entire city and makes the city radioactive sounds really bad, luckily so bad they don't get used outside of two early proof of concept bombs. If it wasn't for the threat of nuclear warfare I have no doubts that the US and USSR would have at some point engaged in direct full fledged warfare. None of that silly cold war stuff.
The AK-47 is responsible for m
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Europe was in danger of being overrun by the axis. Not the world. Not even SE Asia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WWII.png [wikipedia.org]
Blue is Axis countries.
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Google's unofficial motto.
Information wants to be collated and sold!
Soulskill (Score:5, Insightful)
Leave it to Soulskill to post this crap. Time to block the editor again eh? Sad how low the standards have gotten here.
Re:Soulskill (Score:4)
I'm really really confused by your comment. How can you have a UID that low AND think slashdot has standards?
Re:Soulskill (Score:5, Funny)
Alzheimers
Re:Soulskill (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Soulskill (Score:5, Insightful)
So you buy that he lost his voice and won't be at the quarterly earnings meeting - In late July?
That doesn't smell suspicious to you?
permanent record of where everyone has been (Score:2)
This will be popular until some corporate CEO's wife finds out where said CEO was during "lunch".
Re:permanent record of where everyone has been (Score:4, Insightful)
Who said the CEO would use this on himself? No, this kind of tracking is only for the peons.
CEO's do not equal rank-and-file employees (Score:4, Insightful)
Uh, because there would be no point? What does the CEO's location have to do with stock performance?
And I'm no Google fan (I'm an Apple stockholder), but there are obviously some security issues involving the whereabouts of a famous billionaire CEO (e.g., kidnap and ransom?) that don't apply to the rank-and-file employee.
Re:CEO's do not equal rank-and-file employees (Score:5, Insightful)
Uh, because there would be no point? What does the CEO's location have to do with stock performance?
Say, you're right! Let's stop paying them 500x what we pay rank-and-file employees while we're at it.
Re:CEO's do not equal rank-and-file employees (Score:4, Insightful)
Larry Page's annual salary is $1.
He also doesn't get any stock or stock options... not sure about bonuses, but I don't think so. Of course, he personally owns a huge chunk of the $180B company, so it's not like he needs any direct income.
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Do you know, then, that Page does get bonuses? According to Forbes, he does not -- his total compensation package is $1 per year. Obviously this is because as a founder he owns a large portion of the company. The point of my original post was that it makes no sense to complain about CEO compensation in the context of an article about Google.
Google minus one... (Score:3, Insightful)
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Re:Google minus one... (Score:4, Insightful)
it has backfired on them, with many of us geeks.
non-geeks seem to like google and don't see or can't see the dark side. they also are fine with apple and MS, too, usually.
the geeks largely did take google on their word to not be evil. its been shown that this is no longer the case (hasn't been for quite some time) and while that brings them down to where every other mega-corp is, it stings worse when your confidence has been shaken or you feel you have been intentionally lied to or misled.
if google just was always an ad-company and was shameless about it, we could accept it for what it is, like many others. but they acted like they were inherently good and would always be doing the 'right thing'. we feel more betrayed since they sugar-coated their lie and kept saying it, with a straight face, for so long.
we get that they collect and sell info. and whatever gets us to their pages, where they collect our 'web-prints', is just a cost overhead to them disguised as a product or service to the users.
I really wonder if googlers think about this stuff, at night. do they see where their company is going? all the things they do and the plans they have? they are ok with this? I really wonder.
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Re:Google minus one... (Score:4, Insightful)
I too have issues with Google but this "story" isn't one of them.
Regardless, what are alternatives? I can't even pay for products that equal googles. I've actively looked for services as good as theirs that I can pay for and not be tracked or sold to the highest bidder. I have yet to find decent replacements to gmail, google maps, docs and search. I did switch my email over to an iCloud account since I have an iPhone and a Mac anyway but still, Apple isn't the most moral company either.
I've considered running my own services and may very well end up doing so soon. I'd rather pay someone decent though and not trouble myself with the admin overhead. I get enough of it at work, I don't need it at home too.
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I'd love to use DDG but it's blocked at my work :(
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Ugh (Score:2)
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I am not Waldo or Carmen Sandiego. (Score:3)
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4 possibilities to "opt out" of (Score:2)
1) Do not give workers cell phones and do not track them
2) Do give workers cell phones and do not track them.
3) Do give workers cell phones and do track them.
4) Do not give workers cell phones and do track them.
In any of these cases, employees can "Opt Out" (quit). Even a 10% quit rate would probably cause a company to rethink its strategy. The question is, are 10 percent more likely to quit over not being given a phone, or for being tracked? At our company, we give the staff cell phones but only track tr
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Google (Score:2)
Google Employee #2(Bob): But isn't our motto 'Do no Evil'?
Joe: Bob, does your wife know where you were last night? We do Bob, WE do.
Growth industry (Score:2)
Think of all the economic activity this will generate: Blackmail - "Hey, Mr. CEO, I wonder if your wife knows you were at that leather bar at 10:40pm last night."
Industrial espionage - "The CEO was tracked to the headquarters of a certain component supplier. Could this mean an entry into a certain hardware market?"
Kidnapping - no. That's not even close to a joke. It happens.
Assault - "Today, protesters hounding a CEO turned violent as they cornered him at a local coffee shop..."
Yeah, I think it's best
Still waiting for GPS! (Score:2)
Frequently encountered on my samsung epic galaxy using GPS applications.
It (and the iphone before it) show me thousands of feet or even miles away from where I really am a few times a week.
Solution is GPS Status (reset GPS, download a tiny file).
But at least twice a month that doesn't work and i have to REBOOT the damn phone.
Lost his voice? (Score:3)
Isn't there an Android app that is a copy of Stephen Hawking's voice?
Lost His Voice (Score:3)
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Except Google shares data with Google now that they moved to a unified privacy model (courtesy Steve Jobs - makes you wonder if this was his revenge on Google). So the tracker probably lets you trace through Google Voice as well.
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I think phones would have better ways of telling if it is forwarding phone calls or not.
Unless you are thinking of the taping two phones together idea, but you would still have to hit the answer button for that to work.