14 DAY TRIAL // The path Google is walking on is a tricky one, the Internet users are still fresh after the Facebook problem that they've seen escalate and, eventually, come to a very abrupt ending with the CEO of the social network apologizing. Perhaps this might not be the best moment to push forward the "Google Profiles" idea, because of the hype about privacy that is still going on.
It has already been introduced as a concept with Blogger, orkut, Google Groups, Google Co-op, but until now all of them could have provided their readers with different information, basically you could have created a different persona for every one of the services described above. The unification of all under a single identity and just one information database? well, it tends to freak people out. The internet provides you with that cloak of anonymity that you sometimes need in order to feel protected, that's why so many people stay online for hours, just feeling regular Internet Joes.
"A Google Profile is simply how you represent yourself on Google products - it lets you tell others a bit more about who you are and what you're all about. You control what goes into your Google Profile, sharing as much (or as little) as you'd like" is what the official Google Profile page says.
In theory, the profile won't display your full name and information, just the nickname that you choose, with the real name being displayed only for your contacts, your occupation, your location, a list of links, a photo and a short description. It's not much, but it's enough.
Even the idea that everything that I do on the Internet could be tracked, via the profile I use, gives me shivers down my spine. Not because I'm visiting the sites I shouldn't, but because, in my eyes, that's a privacy agreement liability. And it'd make me feel like I'm just another soldier in the huge Google army, marching across sites, while some general up there observes my movement.